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Tin;  ArriKiR. 


UNDER  THE  RED  AND  GOLD 

Being  Notes  and  Recollections  of 

The  Siege  of  Baler. 


BY 


CAPTAIN  DON  SATURNINO  MARTIN  CEREZO. 
Commanding  the  Detachment. 


Translated  and  Edited  by 

F.  L.  DODDS. 

Major,  U.  S.  Army. 


PUBLISHED    BY 

FRANKLIN  HUDSON  PUBLISHING  CO. 
KANiAB  City,  Mo., 

u.  B.  A. 


Copyright    1009 

By  Franklin  Hudson  Publishing  Co. 

Kansas  City,  Mo. 


Translator's  Foreword. 

While  stationed  in  Manila^  three  years  ago,  I  read  one 
day  in  a  local  Spanish  daily  paper.  El  Mercantil,  an  editorial 
in  which  the  editor  announced  that  he  had  received  from  Spain 
a  book  in  which  was  recorded  the  notes  and  recollections  of 
Captain  Martin  Cerezo,  the  only  surviving  ofllcer  of  a  detach- 
ment of  Spanish  soldiers  who  sustained  a  remarkable  siege, 
the  story  of  which  is  here  translated. 

The  editor  of  El  Mercantil  was  deeply  impressed  by  the 
tale  of  suffering  and  heroism;  and,  not  content  with  a  review 
of  the  book,  or  extracts  from  it,  announced  that  it  would  be 
reproduced  in  his  paper  from  day  to  day. 

The  translator  was  also  impressed  when  the  installments 
began,  and  saved  the  papers  as  the  story  appeared.  Having 
returned  to  the  States,  I  made  arrangements  to  have  the  pa- 
per sent  on,  but  several  numbers  failed  to  reach  me.  It  was 
not  until  a  long  time  afterwards  that  I  was  able  to  ascertain 
where  the  book  was  published,  and  to  get  a  copy  of  it  from 

Spain. 

As  it  is  now  presented,  the  introductory  part,  Ccrezo's  ac- 
■count  of  the  events  following  the  siege,  and  the  appendices 
are  very  much  condensed,  but  the  story  of  the  siege  itself  is 
given  almost  entirely  in  the  words  of  the  author. 

>S'^.  Paul  February  5,  1908. 


To  the  Reader. 

Living  yet  in  my  soul,  as  thoudi  of  yesterday,  those  eleven 
months  of  anguish  that  we  suti'ered  in  the  church  of  Baler,  I 
believe  I  owe  to  my  country  the  story  of  the  happenings  with- 
in those  four  w^alls,  the  last  remnant  of  its  dominion  in  the 
Philippines. 

Content  with  the  gratitude  and  rewards  1  have  received, 
I  do  not  attempt  to  bring  myself  forward;  my  only  desire  be- 
ing to  preserve  from  oblivion  that  which  merits  a  place  in  our 
Golden  Legend,  to-day,  unhappily,  so  doubted  and  tarnished; 
to  record  those  glorious  deeds  which  doubtless  would  have  been 
multiplied  throughout  the  whole  theater  of  Avar  if  circum- 
stances and  means  had  been  other  than  they  were. 

A  small  detachment  of  soldiers  there  proved  that  our  mil- 
itary virtues  have  not  decayed.  It  is  well  to  record  it,  if  it 
be  only  to  reanimate  that  saving  faith  of  which  we  so  sorely 
stand  in  need. 

Cast  down  as  we  were  by  misfortune,  fallen  into  abjectncss 
and  discredit,  I  consider  inost  opportune  these  pages,  a  humble 
summary  of  those  sad  days  and  a  tril)ute  due  to  my  valorous 
companions.  Free  as  I  am  from  bitterness,  and  desiring  neither 
censure  nor  criticism,  they  have,  to  make  them  worthy,  only 
my  sincerity  in  writing  them. 

And — nothing  more.  Peace  to  the  dead;  reflection  for 
the  living;  and  a  prayer  to  God  that  He  will  enlighten  and 
protect  us. 

Saturxixo  Martix  Cerezo. 

Madrid,   September  30,  1904. 


Introductory. 


In  a  remote  corner  of  the  Philippine  Ardiipehigo,  on  the 
east  coast  of  the  island  of  Luzon,  stands  the  little  town  of 
Baler.  It  is  a  desolate  and  lonely  spot,  with  stern  mountain 
walls  enclosing  it  upon  the  landward  side,  the  vast  Pacihc 
spread  before  it,  and  an  exposed  and  dangerous  coast  stretch- 
ing away  to  north  and  south. 

Its  oldest  and  most  substantial  building,  the  universal  hall- 
mark of  Spanish  conquest,  is  its  church.  It  is  a  rude  stone 
edifice,  gaunt  and  l)are  and  neglected;  yet  this  desolate  sanctu- 
ary is  the  shrine  of  the  noblest  epic  of  Spanish  sovereignty  in 
those  ill-starred  islands.  For  within  the  shelter  of  its  walls  a 
company  of  Spanish  soldiers,  starving,  forgotten,  yet  uncon- 
querable, withstood  a  siege  of  eleven  long  months,  under  cir- 
cumstances of  suffering  and  heroism,  during  the  last  days  of 
the  Spanish  and  the  early  days  of  the  American  dominion  in 
the  Philippines. 

There  is  probal)ly  no  stranger  anomaly  in  all  history  than 
the  picture  of  that  forsaken  band  of  heroes,  fighting  their  des- 
perate fight  and  winning  immortal  laurels  in  a  cause  which  had 
ceased  to  exist,  in  defense  of  property  which  their  own  country 
had  ceded  to  aliens,  and  against  the  ancient  enemy  which  Spain 
had  transferred  to  the  newer  foe  with  the  land  itself. 

The  story  is  one  of  patient  endurance,  of  bitter  sufliering 
from  hunger,  disease,  and  wounds,  of  death  bravely  met,  of 
heroic  deeds,  and  of  sublime  devotion  to  the  flag  under  which 
those  men  were  serving.  They  deserved  a  closer  sympathy  and 
better  support,  a  worthier  foe,  a  more  conspicuous  field.  But 
the  obscurity  of  their  pitiful  fortress  cannot  dim  the  luster  of 
theic  heroic  story,  nor  render  it  less  worthy  to  form  the  latest 
chapter  in  the  Golden  Legend  of  romantic  Spain. 


6  Under   the   Eed   axd    Gold. 

The  little  town  stands  upon  a  point  of  land  juttinof  out 
from  the  south  shore  of  a  small  bay  or  cove  of  the  same  name, 
and  is  nearly  encircled  by  a  tidal  stream,  which  at  times  con- 
verts it  into  an  island.  It  consisted,  in  Spanish  days,  of  the 
aforesaid  cliurcli,  with  its  convent  or  priest's  residence;  a  frame- 
and-concrete  house  for  the  Governor;  barracks  for  the  troops; 
and  a  dingy  trilninal  for  tlie  administration  of  what  was  of- 
ficiallv  known  as  justice.  These  otitward  and  visible  signs  of 
Spanish  dominion,  grotipcd  about  the  inevitable  plaza,  ft)rmed 
the  strong  nucleus,  around  which,  along  straight  roads  shad- 
owed by  a  luxuriant  growth  of  palm  and  Ijamboo,  were  clustered 
the  frail  native  jiouscs,  well  typifying,  by  their  lightness  and 
insecurity,  the  restless  and  unstable  cliaracter  of  the  inhabitants. 

Although  Manila  is  only  about  one  hundrc'd  and  twenty 
miles  from  Baler,  communication  with  it,  over  the  mountains, 
was  always  dillicult  and  uncertain;  by  sea,  almost  equally  so, 
for  lack  of  safe  anchorage  or  harbors.  Yet,  cut  olf  as  it  was 
from  the  outside  world,  it  was  the  most  important  town  in  the 
region,  and  under  Spanish  rule  was  the  capital  of  the  District 
of  El  Ih'incipe. 

The  only  other  town  of  any  im})ortance  in  the  District  is 
Casiguran,  a  place  of  particular  interest  to  Americans  because 
it  was  near  here  that  General  Funston  landed  with  his  force 
on  his  way  to  capture  Aguinaldo. 

The  Governor  of  El  Ih'incipe,  who  was  usually  a  captain 
of  the  Army,  also  filled  the  otlices  of  judge  of  first  instance, 
Treasury  dejuity,  and  director  of  posts,  performing  his  func- 
tions aiid  collecting  the  tribute  of  liis  savage  donuiin  as  best 
he  could.  His  autliority  was,  however,  ill-supported  and  ques- 
tionable. The  natives,  and  e>pecially  the  more  civilized  of  the 
Tagalogs,  had  no  love  for  their  masters,  and  a  widespread  dis- 
affection was  continually  at  work,  undermining  what  little 
power  he  could  boast. 


UxDER   THE   Red   axd   Goed.  7 

For  a  A-car  liefoi-e  the  opening  of  Baler's  disastrous  story 
the  Filipinos  had  been  in  insurrection  against  the  Spanish  Gov- 
ernment. ]\[ai)ila  and  its  neighboring  provinces  were  the  center 
of  the  disturbance;  and  El  Principe  was  considered  a  tranquil 
district  until,  towai'd  the  end  of  August,  18'.)7,  rumors  Ijegan  to 
be  whispered  about  that  the  insurgents  were  taking  advantage  of 
its  isolated  and  unguarded  coasts  to  snuiggle  in  arms  and 
ammunition. 

The  Governor  was  ordered  to  investigate  the  matter,  but, 
as  may  be  imagined,  he  could  verify  nothing;  his  only  sottrcc 
of  information  being  in  the  wild  aborigines,  who  could  scarcely 
be  l)ribed  or  cajoled  within  reach  even  to  sell  their  venison, 
and  whose  testimony  was  practically  valueless  when  it  could  l)e 
obtained.  Yet  such  itse  of  the  territory  was  a  menace  to  more 
important  regions;  and  a  cruiser,  the  Maria  Cristina^  later  not 
unknown  to  fame,  was  dispatched  thither  to  patrol  its  waters 
and  restore  tranquillity  to  the  alarmed  towns  along  the  coast. 

Baler  had  been  garrisoned  uj)  to  this  time  by  a  corporal 
and  four  men  of  the  veteran  Guardia  Civil;  but,  in  response  to 
the  urgent  request  of  the  Governor,  a  detachment  of  fifty  men 
from  the  battalion  of  cazadorcs,  under  Lieutenant  Don  Jose 
Mota,  Avas  dispatched  to  their  relief.  They  arrived  in  Baler  on 
September  20th,  after  a  daring  and  difficult  march  through 
the  savage  mountains,  where  the  enemy  was  most  dangerous 
and  powerful. 

Mota  was  brave  and  able;  but,  oneo  in  the  town,  he  relied 
too  confidently  upon  his  seeming  security,  making  the  mistake 
which  has  been  the  undoing  of  many  a  brave  man  Ijefore  him — 
and,  alas!  of  many  a  one  since.  Ten  men  of  his  scanty  force 
he  stationed  in  the  barracks  of  the  Guardia  Civil,  eighteen 
others  in  the  schoolmaster's  house,  and  the  rest  in  the  Goman- 
dancia.     He  selected  his  own   quarters   in  the   schoolmaster's 


8  UXDER    THE    EeD     AXD     GoLD, 

house,  as  l>oing  centrally  located;  and  limited  his  precautions 
to  posting  one  sentinel  in  the  plaza,  to  keep  guard  for  the  en- 
tire garrison. 

A  letter  from  the  local  priest  to  a  colleague,  dated  at  this 
time,  contains  these  caustic  and  significant  words : 

''We  have  had  here  some  war-vessels  to  reconnoiter  the 
country.  You  may  imagine  how  much  they  have  discovered. 
Besides,  we  have  fifty  cazadove^i,  commanded  by  a  very  young 
lieutenant.  These  are  calamities  which  God  orders  for  us,  and 
which  we  have  to  endure.*' 

The  garrisoning  of  Baler  In-  so  insufficient  a  force  was 
]nerely  inviting  disaster.  The  very  weakness  of  its  former  con- 
dition might  have  saved  it;  but  it  now  took  rank  as  an  obstacle, 
not  strong  enough  to  be  feared,  but  worth  getting  rid  of. 

A^ery  early  on  the  morning  of  October  5,  1897,  a  large  band 
of  the  insurgents,  stealing  in  through  the  forest's  trails  and 
the  dusky  palm  groves,  as  silently  as  the  mists  and  shadows  of 
dawn,  fell  upon  the  sleeping  garrison,  killed  and  wounded  a 
score  of  their  number,  including  Mota  himself,  and  retired  as 
quickly  as  they  had  come,  bearing  away  with  them  fifteen  pris- 
oners, among  whom  was  the  parish  priest,  and  a  valuable  booty 
of  arms  and  ammunition. 

Two  days  later  the  captain  of  the  Manila,  steaming  leisurely 
into  fbo  little  harbor,  and  landing  with  the  neighborly  intention 
of  exchanging  news  with  Mota  and  the  priest,  was  confronted 
with  the  shocking  spectacle  of  a  number  of  dead  bodies  lying 
unburied  on  the  plaza.  The  survivors  of  the  massacre  had  forti- 
fied themselves  in  the  cliurch;  and,  after  reinforcing  them  wiili 
twelve  men  from  his  ship  and  a  doctor  to  care  for  the  wounded, 
the  captain  of  the  Manila,  rc-embarked  and  steamed  away  for 
Casiguran,  to  cojumunicate  the  news  of  the  disaster  to  Army 
headquarters. 


U>vT>ER  THE   Red   axd   Gold.  9 

His  telegram  produced  immense  astonishment  among  the 
officials  in  Manila;  but  they  so  far  recovered  from  their  surprise 
as  to  dispatch  to  Baler,  by  the  transport  Cchu,  one  hundred  men, 
under  Captain  Don  Jesus  Eoldan  Maizonada — a  force  propor- 
tionately even  more  inadequate  than  the  first  company  of  iifty, 
to  cope  with  the  swelling  forces  of  the  insurgents,  rendered 
doubly  dangerous  by  their  recent  success. 

After  two  days  of  delay  and  a  sharp  brush  with  the  insurg- 
ents, who  had  returned  and  entrenched  themselves  strongly 
along  the  shore,  Eoldan  succeeded  in  landing  liis  force,  October 
17th.  lie  had  no  alternative  than  to  take  up  his  quarters  in 
the  church  and  fortify  his  position  to  the  best  of  the  scanty 
means  at  his  disposal.  The  troops  which  he  had  relieved  em- 
barked two  days  later;  the  Manila,  leaving  with  him  all  the  pro- 
visions she  could  spare,  weighed  anchor :  and  'Svhen  this  vessel 
and  the  Cehu  steamed  away,"  in  the  words  of  Baler's  heroic 
chronicler,  ''the  capital  of  the  district  of  El  Principe  was  left 
reduced  to  the  church,  defended  Ijy  a  scanty  force,  cut  off  from 
all  communication  by  land,  with  help  by  way  of  tlie  sea  ttncer- 
tain  and  difficidt,  and  surroitnded  by  a  silent  and  deserted  town 
— a  sad  presage  of  that  which  was  so  soon  to  follow." 

Only  a  few  hours  after  the  vessels  steamed  away  the  rebels 
returned  to  the  attack.  We  shall  not  follow  all  the  events  of 
this  earlier  and  lesser  siege.  It  lasted  three  months,  during 
which  the  garrison  suffered  many  privations.  Eations  were  scarce 
and  in  bad  condition.  The  firing  was  incessant  and  the  duties 
laborious.  There  were  many  sick  and  wounded.  In  the  fighting 
of  January  11th  alone,  the  day  when  the  besiegers  had  com- 
pletely invested  the  church,  there  were  seventeen  persons  (in- 
cluding an  officer)  wounded.  There  were  no  medicines,  nor 
surgical  attendance. 

But  relief  came  at  last  when,  January  23,  1898,  a  force  of 


10  UXDER    THE    EeD    AXD     GoLD. 

four  hundred  men,  under  Major  Geneva,  and  the  news  of  the 
peace  of  Biac-na-Bato  reached  Baler  within  a  few  hours  of 
each  other. 

Eoldan  was  now  ordered  to  receive  the  surrender  of  his  hite 
antagonists.  But  there  were  very  few  who  availed  themselves 
of  this  opportunity  to  ^'hury  the  hatchet":  "and  it  was  a  sig- 
nificant fact,"  adds  the  historian,  ''that  they  all  came  in  A\-ith- 
out  arms,  a  clear  indication  that  the  peace  was  not  likely  to  hist."' 

The  authorities  in  ^lanila  now  determined  to  witlidraw 
Genova's  battalion  and  to  rei)lace  Eoldan's  company.  The  re- 
lieving force  Avas  limited  to  a  detachment  of  fifty  men,  com- 
manded by  Lieutenants  Don  Alonso  Zayas  and  Don  SaturjiiuM 
Martin  Cerezo. 

The  Detachment  set  out  from  ^Manila  on  February  T,  1S98. 
Its  members  little  thought  that  it  would  be  nearly  a  year  and  a 
half  before  they  Avould  return  To  ^Manila ;  tbat  they  were  to  un- 
dergo hardships  and  suffering  almost  unlieard  of;  and  tliat  when 
they  returned,  it  would  be  to  find  that  the  sovereignty  of  tlieir 
country  over  the  Philippines  had  passed  to  anotber  nation.  The 
only  officer  of  the  Detacbment  to  survive  was  Lieutenant  Martin 
Cerezo,  and  it  is  his  storv  that  will  now  be  yiven. 


TJxDER  THE  Red   and   Gold.  11 


THE  SIEGE. 


FIRST   PERIOD. 

From  February  to  ISTovember,  1898. 

I. 

THE  RELIEF. 

Captain  Las  Mokexas. — Scarcity  of  rations. — Incidents. — 

Preliminary  dispositions. — Policy  of  attraction. — The 

schoolmaster  Lucio. — In  d.viikness  and  barefooted. — 

Requests  disregarded. 

The  appointment  of  Don  Enrique  de  las  Morenas  y  Fossi, 
Captain  of  Infantry,  as  Politico-Military  Governor  of  El  Prin- 
cipe was  coincident  with  our  departure,  and  we  made  the  jour- 
ney together.  It  took  us  five  days  to  make  it;  and  I  deem  it 
opportune  to  briefly  notice  the  itinerary,  in  order  to  show  what, 
even  in  profound  peace,  were  the  means  of  communication  be- 
tween this  District  and  tlie  capital  of  the  Archipelago. 

By  way  of  the  Pasig,  a  l)eautiful  river,  whose  poetic  shores 
furnish  abundant  examples,  although  only  l)cginnings,  of  what 
can  be  done  by  labor  and  civilization  in  the  Philippines,  the  ves- 
sel carried  us  as  far  as  Santa  Cruz  on  the  Laguna  de  Bay,  where 
we  stayed  that  night,   setting  out   for  ]\[auban  the  next   day. 

It  took  us  two  days  to  make  this  short  journey  (twenty-five 
miles),  passing  through  Magdalena,  Majayjay,  Lumban,  and  iVl- 
fonso.  Las  Morenas  was  suffering  from  neuralgia.  He  could 
travel  on  horseback  the  first  day,  but  he  had  to  be  carried  in  a 
hammock  during  the  second  day's  march. 

Arriving  at  Mauban,  we  had  to  undergo  another  delay  while 
awaiting  the  arrival  of  a  transport  which  left  Manila  three  days 


12  Under  the   Red   and   Gold. 

before  our  departure.  Having  embarked  on  this,  we  reached  our 
destination  on  the  evening  of  the  12th  (February,  1898). 

On  board  this  same  transport  were  also  Friar  Candido 
Gomez  Carrefio,  who  had  been  made  prisoner  at  the  time  of  the 
surprise  of  Mota's  detachment,  and  who  was  going  back  to  his 
parish,  and  the  then  provisional  surgeon  of  the  Medical  Corps, 
Don  Kogelio  Vigil  de  Quiiioncs  y  Alfaro,  who  was  under  orders 
to  organize  and  direct  the  hospital  service,  which  had  been  for- 
merly totally  neglected.  Accompanying  him  for  this  purpose 
were  a  corporal  and  an  attendant  of  the  Hospital  Corps,  l)oth 
natives,  and  a  European  attendant;  a  personnel  that  was  ap- 
parently regarded  as  sufficient. 

The  river,  which  was  now  overflowed  to  within  a  few  feet 
of  the  church,  presented  the  first  difficulty  on  our  arrival,  since 
some  rations  which  our  men  landed  on  the  beach  had  to  remain 
there  more  than  tbree  days,  deteriorating  in  the  inclement 
weather. 

That  river  Avas  always,  for  us,  an  obstacle  to  communication 
with  the  outside  world.  Under  other  circumstances  it  might  have 
been  of  some  use  to  us,  or  even  served  as  a  means  of  security; 
but,  with  its  rising  and  falling  with  the  tides  and  rains,  unford- 
able  for  the  greater  part  of  the  time,  it  was  in  fact  only  a  net 
that  held  and  isolated  us. 

There  had  been  a  l^ridge,  but  it  had  been  destroyed  by  the 
floods,  and  there  remained  of  it  only  the  well-built  piers  of  ma- 
sonry. They  would  have  served  very  well  for  its  reconstruction 
without  much  effort,  but  they  were  allowed  to  stand  in  the  stream 
useless,  while,  it  is  worth  noting,  there  was  within  a  short  dis- 
tance plenty  of  timber,  already  cut,  to  rebuild  it. 

The  problem  was  considered  solved  by  using  a  boat  which 
the  boatman  pulled  across  by  clinging  to  a  hejuco  (a  sort  of  rat- 
tan) stretched  from  one  bank  to  the  other,  after  the  manner  of 
some  ferries  in  Spain.     Las  Morenas  undertook  to  appoint  a 


Under  the  Eed  and   Gold.  13 

native  every  day  for  this  service,  but  the  latter  took  himself  off 
whenever  he  felt  like  it;  and,  as  passengers  were  not  wanting, 
since  almost  all  the  people  lived  by  fishing  and  salt-making,  par- 
ties were  always  waiting  on  one  side  for  someone  to  bring  back 
the  boat  which  had  ]jcen  left  on  the  other. 

It  was  a  means  of  reminding  those  people  of  our  isolation 
when  they  deprived  us  of  this  means  of  crossing. 

The  change  in  the  politico-military  governorship  and  of  the 
garrison  (the  two  commands  wei'e  independent)  having  been 
effected,  Geneva,  with  his  troops,  and  Eoldan,  with  his  company, 
embarked  on  ilie  same  ship  that  had  brought  us,  the  vessel  sail- 
ing for  Manila  as  soon  (the  sea  having  become  calm)  as  the 
anchor  could  be  raised  for  the  departure  from  the  roadstead. 

The  departure  of  the  transport  is  in  reality  the  first  scene, 
as  it  were,  of  the  tragecly,  the  story  ol;  which  I  am  going  to 
write. 

Those  rations  that  had  been  left  for  us  on  the  beach  were 
the  last  we  were  to  receive.  AYith  these  and  those  stored  in  the 
church  we  were  to  face  a  long  siege.  Who  could  have  believed 
that  not  one  man,  not  one  cartridge,  not  one  sack  of  biscuit  were 
we  to  receive  from  our  army? 

Our  supply  of  ammunition  was  not  scanty,  but  the  same 
could  not  be  said  of  the  rations.  When  all  had  been  brought  in, 
Ave  coukl  see  how  greatly  damaged  they  were;  not  only  on  ac- 
count of  the  circumstances  under  which  they  had  been  landed 
and  brought  in,  but  also  because  of  the  place  of  storage,  which 
was  exceedingly  dauip  and  cramped,  and  which  lacked  ventilation 
and  sunlight.  Besides,  we  did  not  bring  a  great  many  with  us, 
and  Geneva's  force,  with  its  daily  consumption  of  rations  for 
four  hundred  men,  had  about  used  up  the  best  articles,  leaving 
us  only  the  damaged  and  unserviceable. 

In  a  few  days  the  state  of  decomposition  of  the  rations  and 


14  UxDER  THE  Bed  akd   Gold. 

the  imjDossibility  of  utilizing  some  of  tliem  made  it  necessary  to 
talve  stock,  as  it  were,  and  to  reject  a  large  part  of  them.  In 
seeking  to  make  up  the  deficiency  that  now  threatened  us  on  this 
account,  we  sought  to  obtain  the  good-will  of  the  people  by  buy- 
ing from  them  all  the  meat  and  fish  they  offered  us,  paying  them 
usually  at  prices  fixed  by  themselves,  and  consequently  stimulat- 
ing their  cupidity.  By  this  proceeding  we  succeeded  in  causing 
the  absent  to  come  back  into  the  town  and  to  turn  again  to  their 
ordinary  pursuits,  and  at  the  same  time  reduced  the  expenditure 
of  our  available  food  supplies. 

But  this  saving  of  our  rations  could  not  continue  very  long. 
Incited  by  Corporal  A^icente  Gonzalez  Toca,  a  man  of  undisci- 
plined mind,  whom  I  had  to  put  to  death  later,  the  soldiers  pro- 
tested that  neither  tlie  carabao  meat  nor  the  venison  should  be 
considered  a  part  of  the  ration.  It  was  necessary  to  listen  io 
them,  and  information  of  the  protest  was  connnunicated  to  the 
Captain-General  in  Manila  for  a  decision,  which  turned  out  to  l)e 
in  favor  of  the  claims  of  the  troops. 

]\roreover,  as  if  Baler  were  a  prosi)erouri  trading-post,  easy 
to  supply,  it  was  further  ordered  that,  in.  consideration  of  the 
want  of  means  of  livelihood  among  the  people  of  the  town,  such 
provisions  or  rations  as  they  might  ask  for  should  be  sold  to  them. 
Following  this  was  a  list  of  prices  and  one  of  the  articles  com- 
posing each  class  of  the  rations;  but  not  even  any  intimation  that 
we  should  have  opportune  supply. 

The  Detachment  was  at  first  lodged  in  the  church,  the  place 
tJjat  events  had  demonstrated  to  be  the  most  suitable.  There  we 
were  at  least  in  position  for  avoiding  a  surprise;  there  was  our 
ammunition;  there  was  the  place  of  deposit  for  our  rations,  good 
or  bad,  few  or  many;  and  there  was  our  last  refuge  in  case  of 
any  unpleasant  contingency. 

But  Captain  Las  Morenas,  wishing  to  impress  upon  the  na- 


Under  the  Eed  and   Gold.  15 

fives  his  lively  desire  for  intimacy  and  confidence,  suggested  to 
Lieutenant  Alonso,  now  commanding  the  Detachment,  the  desir- 
ability of  accommodating  the  troops  in  the  Comandancia,  where 
the  Captain  had  his  official  residence  and  offices,  leaving  as  a 
guard  for  the  church  only  a  small  detail  under  the  orders  oC 
a  corporal.  All  this  was  done;  and  when  the  post  of  the 
Guardia  Civil,  which  watched  the  beach  every  day  to  see  that 
no  arms  were  landed,  was  withdrawn,  one  or  two  files  of  sol- 
diers were  ordered   for  that  service. 

Captain  Las  Morenas  desired  especially  the  repopulation 
of  the  town,  the  administrative  regeneration  of  the  District, 
and  the  unity  and  concord  of  the  people.  He  was  an  optim- 
ist, and  he  proposed  to  himself  to  convert  them  morally  and 
socially.  He  did,  in  fact,  succeed  to  a  certain  extent,  owing  to 
the  commercial  relations  already  spoken  of;  because,  on  account 
of  the  desire  for  gain,  and  believing  that  the  past  was  com- 
pletely forgotten,  the  people  were  already  returning  to  their 
habitations. 

It  is  true  that  the  return  to  normal  conditions,  which  was 
going  on  all  over  the  islands,  contributed  powerfully  to  tliis 
repopulation  of  the  town;  but  the  return  to  normal  conditions 
was  more  apparent  tlian  real,  and,  according  to  the  "Soice 
of  the  people,"  temporary — '^^until  June.''  It  did,  however, 
greatly  serve  to  tranquilize  the  minds  of  the  i)eople. 

Because  of  the  Captain's  undue  confidence,  we  Lad  soon 
to  bewail  a  misfortune.  In  seeking,  perhaps,  tlie  good-will 
of  the  people,  he  had  taken  as  his  adviser  or  counselor  (at 
least,  so  it  was  thought  from  his  intimate  intercourse)  the 
schoolmaster,  one  Lucio,  and  had  devoted  himself  assiduously 
to  the  cultivation  of  the  lands  pertaining  to  the  Comandancia, 
making  use  for  that  purpose  of  the  gratuitous  services  of  the 
people.     This  method  of  farming,  a  proof  of  his  confidence  in 


16  Under  the  Eed  axd   Gold. 

the  genuineness  of  the  peace,  he  committed  to  the  charge  of 
the  schoolmaster,  avIio  was  not  long  in  gaining  the  enmity  of 
all  the  inhabitants. 

The  people,  in  fact,  complied  in  this  service  very  unwill- 
ingly, claiming  that,  owing  to  the  private  nature  of  the  ob- 
ject of  the  service,  their  labor  ought  not  to  be  devoted  to  it 
without  compensation,  even  though  it  were  ordered  under  the 
letter  of  the  law;  that  it  was  jirejudicial  to  their  interests; 
and  that  it  was  an  aluise.  So,  wliile  the  Captain  supposed  that, 
on  account  of  his  attractive  manner  toward  the  people,  what- 
ever he  ordered  would  be  cheerfully  received  and  obeyed,  they, 
on  the  conlrary,  were  ()l)jecting ;  and.  in  their  eagerness  to  get 
satisfaction  out  of  somebody,  they  blamed  tlio  schoolmaster  for 
having  advised  such  a  disagreeable  servitude.  Tbe  labor  and 
the  murmuring  went  on  nntil  finally  the  ])oor  schoolmaster 
was  murdered  l)y  the  ])eo|)le. 

It  is  certain  also  that  it  was  this  individual  we  had  to 
tlunik,  on  onr  part,  that  there  Avas  not  doue  at  this  time  and 
under  favoralde  conditions  that  which  soon  became  so  neces- 
sary to  the  preserving  of  our  lives,  and  Avhich  was  so  simple 
and  easy  to  do. 

As  Baler  had  no  water  supply  except  from  a  watercourse 
which  flowed  around  its  south  and  west,  on  the  o])]M\site  Inink 
of  which  the  dense  wood^  began,  and  a>  the  wbis])erings  of  tbe 
revolution  were  constantly  spreading,  it  occurred  to  me  that 
the  situation  would  be  critical  if,  having  to  confrcuit  a  now 
siege,  we  should  find  onrselves  without  water;  either  l^ecause 
tbe  enemy  wonbl  de])rive  us  of  it  by  diverting  tbe  stream, 
whith  wonld  I)e  an  easy  matter,  or  else,  l)y  hiding  themselves 
in,  the  woods,  they  coubl  render  it  impossible  for  us  to  obtain 
it,  since,  safely  screened  by  the  dense  thickets,  they  could 
easilv  drive  us  awav  or  shoot  us  at  will. 


Undee  the  Eed  axd   Gold.  17 

The  very  slight  elevation  of  the  land  and  the  nearness  of 
the  sea  convinced  me  that  it  would  be  a  simi^le  matter  to  dig 
a  well.  I  indicated  this  to  Las  Morenas,  pointing  ont  that  the 
plaza  was  the  place  most  suitable  to  the  purpose,  and  explain- 
ing to  him,  judiciously,  my  suspicions.  He  heard  the  propo- 
sition somewhat  carelessly,  saying  that  we  would  talk  it  over 
with  the  schoolmaster.  And  so  he  did;  but  as  the  latter,  sure- 
ly wanting  in  truthfulness,  argued  that  already,  on  other  oc- 
casions, efforts  had  been  made  to  open  wells,  but  without 
success,  my  project  was  abandoned. 


Struggling  along,  therefore,  against  adversity  and  aban- 
donment, the  time  came  Avhen  the  troops  had  nothing  with 
which  they  could  make  a  light  at  night;  the  rations,  as  I  have 
already  said,  were  not  abundant;  material  for  repairing  the 
clothing  was  wanting,  and  we  began  to  need  it  badly;  Ave  did 
not  have  in  store  even  one  poor  pair  of  shoes,  and  those  im- 
fortunate  boys  of  ours  had  soon  to  go  barefoot. 

We  asked  for  all  this,  and  urged  it  with  insistency,  with 
the  plain,  logical,  inexorable  insistency  of  necessity;  but  (bit- 
ter it  is  to  say  it)  we  were  not  even  listened  to. 

There  were  powerful  reasons,  I  since  believe,  for  this  neg- 
lect. I  do  not  inquire  what  they  were,  nor  examine  them,  nor 
judge  them;  but  the  fact  is,  and  it  is  well  to  point  it  out,  that 
from  the  12th  of  February,  1898,  the  day  of  our  arrival  at 
Baler,  until  the  2d  of  June,  1899,  the  clay  of  our  memorable 
capitulation,  we  received,  as  I  have  said  before,  not  one  cent, 
not  one  biscuit,  not  one  cartridge. 


18  Under   the   Eed   axd   Gold. 

II. 

BEGIXXIXG    OF   THE    SIEGE. 

The  ixsurrectiox  is  renewed. — Com^iuxicatiox  shut  oef. 
— Escape  of  a  prisoxer. — Xotices  of  attack. — Flight 

OF    THE    IXHABITAXTS. — WITHOUT     CLOTHIXG. — MEASURES 
OF    PRECAUTIOX. — MORE    DESERTIOXS. — EVERYBODY    TO    THE 

CHURCH. — First   combat. — Besieged. 

That  desire  to  establish  a  principle^  already  referred  to 
in  connection  Avith  the  nnirder  of  the  schoolmaster;  those 
■whisperings  of  another  and  much  more  vigorous  rebellion, 
wJiich  went  so  far  even  as  to  appoint  the  month  of  June  as 
the  date  for  the  kindling  of  the  fire,  were  increasing  with 
alarming  rapidity,  like  the  rumbling  of  thunder,  which,  burst- 
ing in  the  heights,  seems  to  roll  along  among  the  peaks  and 
precipices  of  the  range. 

In  April,  1898,  I  learned  that  recruiting  was  going  on 
in  Carranglan,  Pantabangan,  and  Bongabon  for  a  party  which 
had  its  rendezvous  in  San  Jose  de  Lupao.  I  tried  to  find  out 
secretly  whether  the  rumor  had  any  foundation  in  fact;  and, 
through  some  inlialjitants  of  Baler  itself,  who  had  gone  out 
1o  procure  rice  in  the  piiehlos  named,  I  succeeded  in  verifying 
it.  ''They  tried  also  to  enlist  u?/'  my  informants  said,  ''"and 
tiie\'  offered  us  good  pay.''  I  immediately  informed  the 
I'oliiico-Military  Governor  and  the  commander  of  the  troops, 
who  answered  me,  the  former  that  he  would  advise  the  Captain- 
General,  and  the  latter  that  he  would  make  it  known  in  writ- 
ing to  the  com.manding  ofhier  of  the  post  of  Pantabangan,  in 
order  that  he  miglit  adopt  suitable  measures. 

During  the  latter  half  of  Mav  the  situation  continued  to 


Under  tpie  Eed  axd   Gold.  19 

grow  more  and  more  alarming.*  The  force  just  referred  to 
liad  now  become  numerous  enough  to  take  the  field,  and  it 
did  so.  It  tool<:  possession  of  the  towns  named,  where  it  had 
been  recruited,  and  shut  us  off  from  all  communication  with 
the  rest  of  the  Island. 

We  soon  found  how  strict  was  the  vigilance  employed  to 
shut  us  in.  On  tiie  1st  of  June  we  remitted  to  Manila  the 
muster-rolls  and  returns  for  May.  The  mail  was  seized  and 
the  bearers  made  prisoners;  but  after  live  days  they  succeeded 
in  getting  away  and  returning  to  us,  bringing  warning  of  the 
new  dangers  that  were  threatening  Baler. 

It  was  undoubtedly  true  that  our  little  Detachment  con- 
tinually excited  the  cupidity  and  anxious  desire  of  the  enemy. 
Xothing  more  natural.  Eml)oldened  by  the  easy  surprise  of 
October,  which  yielded  them  their  first  supply  of  Mauser  rifles; 
their  victory  at  the  time  of  the  disembarkation  from  the  Ma- 
nila; and  the  corraling  of  Eoldan's  company:  knowing,  as  they 
must  have  known,  our  situation  and  resources  in  detail,  our 
practical  isolation  from  the  side  of  the  soa;  and  eager  to  gain 
renown  by  capturing  us — it  was  logical,  I  say,  for  them  to  look 
longingly  upon  Baler. 

They  were  sure  of  the  complicity  and  assistance  of  the 
people  of  the  town.  They  believed  in  their  ability  and  that 
awaiting  only  for  them  to  come  and  take  possession  were  fifty 
rifles  with  abundant  ammunition.  And  above  all  was  that  de- 
sire of  cutting  off  the  Detachment;  a  desire  not  fully  satisfied 
in  the  former  cases,  and  which,  as  a  consequence,  must  have 
stimulated  their  vanity  extremely;  a  desire,  moreover,  which 
they  could  regard  then  as  of  very  easy  realization,  because  on 


*By  one  of  the  last  mails  we  had  from  Manila  overland  we 
received  the  Gazette,  with  the  news  of  the  rupture  with  the  United 
States  and  the  catastrophe  at  Cavite, 


20  ITxDER  THL  Bed  axd   Gold. 

their  side  were  overwhelming  numbers,  and  on  ours  excessive 
discouragement  and  helplessness. 

Seeing  the  impossibility  of  communicating  information 
of  the  situation  to  the  Captain-General  directly,  Las  Morenas 
sent  for  tlie  ex-leader  and  resident  of  the  town,  Teodorico 
ZS'ovicio  Luna,  a  relative  of  the  celebrated  author  of  '"'Spoli- 
arium/"'  Luna  Xovicio,  whom  Spain  favored  with  the  reward 
of  honor  at  the  Exliibition  of  Fine  Arts  at  Madrid  in  the 
year   IbSrl. 

Las  Morenas  asked  Luna  if  there  was  a  reliable  person 
who  would  bear  a  message  to  the  Governor  of  San  Isidro,  in 
order  to  have  it  transmitted  to  Manila.  He  rejilied  affirma- 
tively, and  presented  one  Eamillo,  for  whom  he  said  he  would 
be  responsible.  To  this  man  was  delivered  a  message  in  cipher, 
which  lie  attached  to  his  thigh,  so  as  to  prevent  its  discovery 
in  case  of  capture.  He  soon  returned,  saying  that  the  enemy 
had  in  fact  detained  him,  stripped  him,  and  found  the  mes- 
sage, which  they  were  unable  to  read  and  the  origin  of  which 
he  Avould  not  tell;  that  they  had  finally  torn  the  paper  to 
pieces;  and  that  they  would  not  permit  him  to  go  further. 
They  and  God  know  whether  all  this  was  true  or  false.  For 
my  part,  this  tying  of  the  dispatch  to  the  leg,  which  was 
more  likely  to  arouse  suspicion,  in  case  they  should  strip  him, 
than  anything  else,  has  always  appeared  to  me  a  very  silly 
proceeding. 

About  this  time  there  arrived  from  Binangonan  two  pon- 
tines  bringing  polay  (unhulled  rice)  to  sell  to  us  in  Baler.  The 
opportunity  to  transmit  the  rolls  and  returns  was  one  not 
to  be  lost,  and  we  seized  it,  entrusting  the  papers  to  the  man 
in  charge  of  the  vessels  for  the  purpose  of  delivery  to  the  com- 
mander of  the  garrison  at  Binangonan.  They  very  obligingly 
accepted  the  commission,  and  departed,  leaving  us  naturally 
hopeful  that  our  returns  would  reach  Manila. 


TJndee  tpie  Eed  axd   Gold.  21 

But  our  hi  opes  ended  very  shortly  in  bitter  disappoint- 
ment; since  no  sooner  liad  tlie  vessels  departed,  after  having 
completed  the  sale  of  their  merchandise  (and  carried  out  the 
secret  mission  which  undoubtedly  was  the  cause  of  their  com- 
ing),  than  the  news  was  spread,  founded  on  the  informa- 
tion brought  by  the  crews,  tliat  Binangonan  was  already  in 
insurrection. 

It  was  one  more  proof  of  tlie  little  confidence  that  could 
be  placed  in  the  inhabitants^  so  reserved  when  they  could  give 
us  information  and  so  communicative  afterwards  when  they 
thought  to  annoy  us  with  the  news. 

On  St.  John's  Day  we  had  still  another  bad  omen  to  note. 
For  some  time  before  that  there  had  been  two  men  confined 
in  the  jail.  This  had  been  burned  during  the  occurrences  of 
October;  and  it  became  necessary  to  remove  them  to  the  T7-i- 
hunal,  as  the  municipal  building  was  called  there,  and  there 
they  had  remained,  serving  their  sentence  or  awaiting  the  re- 
sult of  their  trial.  I  do  not  know  what  the  crimes  may  have 
been  for  which  they  were  incarcerated — not  very  grave,  per- 
haps; but  both  were  natives  of  the  country;  they  were  being 
detained  by  us;  and,  in  spite  of  the  opportunities  presented, 
the  fact  is,  that  their  ''fellow-citizens"  had  not  liberated  them. 
This  fact  deserves  careful  consideration. 

The  Captain,  nevertheless,  took  one  of  them,  who  said  his 
name  was  Alejo,  to  act  as  his  servant,  the  Politico-Military 
Governor  not  having  any  right  to  take  one  of  the  men  from 
the  Detachment  for  such  dut}'. 

As  Alejo's  behavior  was  good,  he  was  allowed  to  go  about 
everywhere;  and,  needless  to  sa\^,  had  plenty  of  opportunity 
for  prying  and  observing.  He  it  was  -who  gave,  so  to  spealv, 
the  signal  for  the  abandonment  of  the  town,  taking  himself 
o£E  on  the  34tli  of  June,  and  taking  with  him  the  saber  belong- 
ing to  Seiior  Vigil,  our  doctor. 


22  Under  the  Eed  and   Gold. 

Las  ^lorenas  assigned  the  clnty  of  capturing  Alejo  to  one 
Moises^  a  leader  in  the  former  insurrection,  who  soon  returned, 
saying  that  Alejo  had  joined  the  I nsur rectos  at  Pantabangan, 
and  tliat  a  numerous  party  was  coming  against  us  on  the  27th 
in  order  to  inflict  death  on  jSTovicio  Luna,  ^'because  he  had  paid 
no  attention  to  their  invitation  to  join  the  uprising." 

Xovicio  was  sent  for,  under  tlie  supposition,  perhaps,  that 
he  Avas  ignorant  of  the  news  that  had  been  brought;  but,  as 
the  whole  thing  was  nothing  more  than  deception,  since  they 
were  only  getting  ready  for  the  surprise,  the  said  Xovicio  was, 
of  course,  not  found  in  his  house.  "He  has  gone  to  the 
fields,"  said  his  family;  "'he  will  not  be  back  for  some  days." 

Teodorico  Xovicio  Luna  was,  in  fact,  "Cliief  of  all  the 
Insurrecto  forces  in  the  District  of  El  Principe,"'  and  where  he 
had  gone  was  to  procure  arms  for  the  band  that,  under  his  or- 
ders and  in  conjunction  with  that  from  Pantalmngan,  was  to 
return  against  the  post  of  Baler. 

Everything  was  now  becoming  plain.  On  the  2Cth  deser- 
tions from  the  town  were  observed;  which  indicated  an  early 
attack,  just  as  the  flight  of  certain  birds  often  indicates  the 
proximity  of  the  tornado.  It  was  necessary  to  take  energetic 
measures,  and  promptly. 

AYe  were  made  to  understand  this  by  the  action  of  the 
whole  population  the  following  morning,  while  we  had  still 
been  hesitating.  At  daybreak  there  no  longer  remained  a 
single  inliabitant  in  the  town;  all  was  silent  and  deserted. 

But  this  was  not  the  worst;  for,  after  all,  it  was  better 
for  it  to  be  deserted  than  for  us  to  have  bad  neighbors;  the 
gravest  losses,  and  those  we  most  felt,  occurred  in  their  carry- 
ing away  Priar  Carrefio's  trunk,  with  three  hundred  and  fifty 
2)csos  in  ready  money,  and,  above  all,  in  their  taking  away  all 
the  inner  and  outer  clothing  that  our  soldiers  had  sent  out  to 


Under  the  Eed  axd   Gold.  23 

be  washed.     I  have  already  tokl  how  scantily  our  poor  boys 
were  supplied  with  clothing. 

Since  it  was  now  necessary  for  us  to  recognize  and  yield 
to  the  inevitable,  we  were  ordered  to  prepare  to  defend  our- 
selves in  the  church.  During  the  day  (the  27th)  we  moved  to 
that  place  some  provisions  that  had  been  taken  to  the  Coman- 
dancia  because  of  the  better  ventilation  of  that  buihling;  and 
also  about  seventy  cavanes  (a  cavaii  contains  seventy-five  liters) 
of  palaij,  which  the  priest  had  bought  from  the  pontines  that 
had  come  from  Binangonan,  with  a  view  to  selling  it  at  a  prof- 
it not  prohibited  by  the  canons. 

That  afternoon  we  had  to  note  the  disappearance  of  the 
native  Hospital  Corps  men,  Corporal  Alfonso  Sus  Fojas  and 
Private  Tomas  Paladio  Paredes,  and  of  my  servant  Villadiego 
and  a  Peninsular  private,  Felipe  Herrero  Lopez.  That  night  we 
shut  ourselves  up  in  the  church,  with  Vigil,  Friar  Gomez  Car- 
reiio,  and  the  Politico-^Military  Governor,  Avhose  authority  was 
vanishing  like  smoke. 

The  same  was  happening  with  all  our  enthusiasm.  It 
was  undeniable  that  the  situation  was  very  critical,  the  enemy 
arrogant  and  numerous,  those  walls  weak,  the  elements  of 
defense  slender,  treason  possible,  and  help  by  no  means  cer- 
tain. The  moment,  in  short,  had  arrived,  a  moiiicnt  always 
agonizing,  in  which  the  voice  of  honor  rises  impelling  the  con- 
summation of  the  sacrifice,  and  when  death  is  probable,  im- 
minent, without  other  glory  than  that  of  our  own  consciences. 

That  lonely  ocean,  the  river  an  unfordable  moat,  the  town 
deserted  and  silent,  the  forest  and  mountains  wliicli  must  be 
regarded  as  completely  shutting  us  off,  and  the  abandonment 
which  was  becoming  plain  to  us,  were  surely  not  circumstances 
to  inspire  us  with  courage  and  fortitude. 

On  the  morning  of  the  28th  I  made  a  reconnaissance  with 
fourteen  mea,  without  incident;  and  during  the  day  those  of 


24  Under  the  Eed  and   Gold. 

us  who  were  off  guard  duty  occupied  ourselves  in  bringing  a 
supply  of  water  into  tlie  church,  filling  twenty  odd  tinajas 
(earthenware  water-jars),  which  we  got  out  of  some  of  the 
houses  of  the  town. 

On  the  29th  the  commander  of  the  Detachment,  my  com- 
rade Alonso,  made  the  reconnaissance  with  the  same  number 
of  men;  and  we  had  no  misfortune  to  lament  except  the  deser- 
tion of  a  soldier,  Felix  Garcia  Torres,  who  fled,  it  seems,  from 
the  "crash,"  as  do  rats  from  falling  ruins.  After  all,  it  was 
not  the  first  desertion,  nor  Avas  it  to  be  the  last. 

We  next  occupied  ourselves  in  demolishing  the  so-called 
convent,  which  was  in  fact  only  the  residence  of  the  parish 
priest,  at  the  side  of  the  church.  AVe  stored  in  its  basement 
all  the  wood  obtained  in  its  demolition;  and,  intending  to  use 
it  as  a  corral,  we  lift  the  basement  wall  intact  to  serve  as  a 
fence.    This  wall  was  of  stone,  and  about  two  meters  high. 

I  also  had  three  or  four  horses  caught,  so  that,  in  case  of 
necessity,  we  might  kill  them  and  eat  their  flesh.  But,  some 
of  the  soldiers  having  protested,  saying  that  they  would  not 
eat  it,  and  Alonso  saying  the  same,  and  the  others  not  appear- 
ing to  take  very  kindly  to  the  idea,  there  was  nothing  for  me 
to  do  but  to  submit  to  what  the  Captain  told  me,  and  to  order 
the  horses  turned  loose. 

It  was  the  will  of  God  that  the  date  of  June  30,  1898, 
should  be  signalized  with  blood.  Up  to  that  time  we  had  to 
record  only  menaces,  presages,  and  fears,  disheartening  treach- 
ery and  mocking  villainy;  but  that  morning  the  cloud  closed 
in  on  us,  and  (I  say  it  witliout  boasting)  with  the  relief  of  a 
sensation  desired,  yet  feared.  The  cloud  closed  down  and  we 
breathed  it  in  with  relief. 

I  had  gone  out  on  the  daily  reconnaissance  with  only  four- 
teen men,  the  same  number  as  on  former  days.     All  was  si- 


PLAN  OF  THE  CHURCH. 


1.  Door. 

2.  Baptistery  with  three  loopholes. 

3.  Door  opening  on  the  road  to  the  river. 

4.  Entrance  to  the  trenches. 

5.  Pepper  antl  tomato  bed.s. 

6.  Projection  of  the  Choir, 

7.  High  altar. 

8.  Door  opening  into  the  sacristy. 

9.  Sacristy. 

10.  Door  from  the  sacristy   to  the   corral. 

11.  Small    opening    to    the    ditch  of    the 

Trench  of  the  sacristy. 

12.  Opening  from  the  first  enclosure   to 

the  second  enclosure  or  corral. 

13.  Well. 


14.  Closet. 

15.  Urinal. 

16.  Tiled  platform. 

17.  Trench  with  its  ditch. 

18.  Looplioled  windows. 

19.  Oven  that  we  built. 

20.  Railing  of  the  presbytery. 

21.  Parapets  constructed  on  the  walls  of 

the  church. 

22.  Cess-pool. 

23.  Entrance  to  the  convent,  the  door  of 

which  was  fortified. 

24.  Entrenchment  to  cover  the  door  of 

the  sacristy. 

25.  Ditch  and  trench  of  the  sacristy. 


Under  the  Eed  axd   Gold.  25 

lence.  We  were  marching  with  the  ordinary  precautions,  but 
without  noticing  anything  that  could  cause  us  uneasiness; 
when,  on  reaching  the  Bridge  of  Spain,  on  the  west  of  the 
town,  suddenly  the  enemy,  posted  along  the  stream  which 
flows  under  the  bridge,  began  a  heavy  fire  and  at  once  rushed 
upon  us,  attempting  to  surround  us. 

Comprehending  their  design,  there  was  nothing  we  could 
do  but  fall  back  upon  the  church.  It  was  necessary  for  us  to 
get  to  shelter  in  all  haste,  and  we  accomplished  it  with  some 
difficulty,  carrying  with  us  Corporal  Jesus  Garcia  Quijano,  who 
was  wounded  se^•erely  in  the  foot. 

It  had  fallen  to  my  lot  to  reply  to  the  first  shots,  and  I 
was  to  reply  to  the  last. 

We  were  besieged. 


26  UxDER   THE   Red  axd   Gold. 

III. 

FEOM  THE  1st  TO  THE  IOtii  OF  JULY. 

First  letter  from  the  exemy. — Preparixg  for  resistaxce. 
— Secoxd  letter. — Reply  of  Las  Morexas. — Coxstruc- 
Tiox    of    trexches. — Gregorio    Catalax    sets    fire    to 

Sl'VERAL    houses.  —  XaVARRO    LeOX    REPEATS    THE    EXTER- 

PRISE. DeFEXSE      AGAIXST      assault. SUSPEXSIOX      OF 

HOSTILITIES. SeDITIOX.  —  LETTER    OF     FRIAR    GoMEZ.  — 

^Varxixg  from  Yillacorta. — Xo  surrexder. 

At  daybreak  the  following  morning  we  found  a  letter 
wliicli  the  enemy  had  left  near  the  church.  In  it  they  told  us 
that  we  ought  to  lay  down  our  arms  in  order  to  avoid  the  use- 
less shedding  of  blood,  seeing  that  almost  all  the  Spanish 
troops  had  done  so,  and  that  further  resistance  was  rash. 
They  added  that  their  force  present  consisted  of  three  com- 
panies overwhelmingly  numerous  and  prepared  to  capture  us. 
This  letter  produced  no  great  impression. 

As  to  the  capitulation  of  almost  all  the  Spanish  forces, 
we  thought  the  story  nothing  more  than  a  stupid  artifice  on 
the  part  of  the  enemy.  But  as  the  manifestations  of  force  were 
incontestable,  and  as  the  facts  that  wo  had  been  able  to  gather 
showed  that  the  situation  was  critical  and  the  peril  very  real, 
we  understood  that  it  was  going  to  be  a  long  story.  We  there- 
fore exerted  ourselves  to  prepare  for  it  with  every  means  that 
we  could  reach.  Suspicion  and  hesitation  had  given  way  to 
certainty  and  decision,  and  something  great  had  awakened  in 
our  souls. 

On  my  part,  1  l)egan  again  to  insist  upon  the  well;  be- 
cause, if  we  should  be  closelv  besieged  and  should  be  unable 


UXDER    THE    EeD     AXD     GoLD.  27 

to  leave  the  church,  as  happened  afterwards,  there  woiikl  be 
nothing'  left  for  us  but  surrender  at  discretion.  Las  ^lorenas 
continu:'d  to  l)elieve  stubbornly  in  wliat  the  dead  schoohnaster 
had  said:  but  he  finally  gave  nic  autliority,  and,  with  fr\e  sol- 
diers, we  put  our  hands  to  the  work. 

The  result  showed  ven'  soon  tluit  I  had  not  suggested  an 
inipossilulity.  At  a  de[!th  of  four  meters  we  found  water  in 
abundance,  enoitgh  for  all  the  necessities  of  life.  We  now  had 
nothing  to  fear  on  account  of  thirst;  but  the  soil  below  was 
very  sandy,  the  subterranean  current  very  strong,  and  the 
opening  was  soon  stopped  u}).  It  was  necessary  to  line  the 
well,  and  for  that  pur]")ose  we  took  to  pieces  a  pillar  of  stones, 
which  was  in  the  corral.  This  not  suilicing,  we  siuik  a  half  of  a 
wine-barrel  in  the  bottom.  ^ly  comrade  Alonso.  with  the  rest 
of  the  availa1)le  force,  occupied  himself  meanwhile  in  filling 
up  the  doors  and  windows;  the  admirable  warlike  ])reparations 
of  the  enemy  demanding  no  less  on  our  part. 

The  following  day  (in  the  morning  also,  since  the  en- 
emy did  not  come  near  us  except  under  co\er  of  darkness)  v,c 
found  a  second  message  about  ten  paces  from  the  church,  iiud 
surelv  thev  had  left  it  iii  a  manner  >o  strange  as  to  give  u< 
rather  a  pleasant  shock.  It  was  found  ydaced  in  the  hollow  or 
a  piece  of  bamboo,  o!ie  end  of  which  was  stuclv  in  the  gi-ound, 
while  the  other  was  covered  with  a  I'anana  leaf,  for  the  ]iur- 
pose,  no  doul)t,  of  keeping  the  ]"ain  from  wetting  its  contents. 
Apparentlv  they  did  not  wish  to  give  iis  an  oppcu'tunitv  to  call 
their  messages  mere  '"paper  sops.'"" 

The  second  letter  consisted  merely  of  complaints  be.-ause 
we  did  not  reply  to  the  first;  which,  they  said,  '"'was  not  com- 
plying with  our  obligations  as  gentlemen."  They  then  enlarged 
upon  what  they  had  already  said  in  the  first  concerning  the 
victorious  progress  of  the  insurrection,  assuring  us  that   they 


28  UXDER    THE    EeD    AXD     GOLD. 

had  mastered  the  greater  number  of  the  provinces  of  Luzon; 
tliat  tl'C  capital  itself,  Manila,  was  besieged  by  22,000  Tagal- 
ogs,  who  had  succeeded  in  cutting  off  its  water-supply;  and 
that  it  was  in  imminent  peril  of  succumljing  to  thirst  unless 
it  should  capitulate. 

Thev  no  douljt  informed  us  of  this  situation  in  Manila 
because  of  the  similar  plight  in  which  they  thought  they  had 
placed  us  ])y  cutting  off  the  canal,  thinking  that  our  water- 
supplv  was  limited  and  that  we  therefore  were  threatened  with 
immediate  deprivation  of  an  element  so  necessary. 

The  reply  of  Las  Morcnas  was  suitable  and  conciliating. 
'Olanila  will  not  surrender  for  want  of  water,''  he  told  them, 
'•'while  it  is  possible  to  utilize  the  water  of  the  sea,  which  offers 
itself  in  abundance."'  He  went  on  advising  them  that  they 
ought  not  to  Ije  deluded ;  that  they  should  return  to  the  obedi- 
ence they  owed  to  Spain;  and  that  he,  their  Politico-Military 
Governor,  would  receive  them  with  open  arms. 

He  finished  by  recommending  that  they  leave  no  more 
letters  in  the  vicinity  of  the  church;  that  in  order  to  send  them 
they  shotdd  sound  the  '•attention";  and  that  if  we  should  an- 
swer 1a'  the  same  signal,  they  should  send  a  bearer  with  the 
message,  luit  onlv  one  man,  and  with  a  white  flag.  He  also 
pointed  rmt  the  manner  in  which  an  answer  would  be  retitrned 
to  them.  We  would  raise  a  vdiite  flag  and  sound  the  •'•'atten- 
tion,"' and  they  could  then  send  someone  to  receive  the  answer. 

It  had  been  decided  that  we  would  not  send  any  soldier, 
for  fear  tliat  the  deserters  might  catechise  him  or  lure  him 
away.  One  of  those  wretches,  Felipe  Herrero  Lopez,  who  had 
been  my  servant,  had  tlie  impudence  to  present  himself  to  re- 
ceive this  answer.  I  went  out  myself  to  give  it  to  him,  and 
tried  with  the  fairest  words  I  could  command  to  persuade  him  to 
retttrn  to  his  allegiance;  but,  seizing  the  message,  he  answered 


Under  the  Eed  and   Gold.  29 

not  a  single  word,  and  returned  at  a  run  to  his  companions,  a 
camp,  to  him,  of  treachery  and  shame. 

On  the  3d  they  sent  us  another  letter  by  a  deserter,  Felix 
Garcia  Torres,  whom  we  would  not  receive';  telling  him  that  he 
should  make  the  enemy  understand  that  if,  in  future,  they  con- 
tinued to  select  emissaries  of  that  class,  we  would  receive  them 
with  bullets.  I  suppose  they  had  done  this  because  they  knew 
that  such  persons  would  be  more  likely  to  understand  us;  per- 
haps, also,  because  if  such  persons  were  lost,  if  something  hap- 
pened to  them,  it  would  not  be  of  very  great  moment;  perhaps, 
also,  they  wished  thus  to  annoy  us.  But  we  could  not  receive 
them.  Their  presence  with  the  message  calling  upon  us  to  lower 
the  flag,  the  same  that  their  traitorous  lips  had  touched,  was  a 
cowardly  outrage  which  we  would  in  no  wise  tolerate. 

The  same  day,  it  having  become  impossible  to  go  out  of 
the  church,  on  account  of  the  constant  firing  kept  up  by  the 
enemy,  it  was  necessary  to  take  up  some  flagstones  in  order  to 
construct  an  oven  in  the  corral,  since  we  had  no  bread  in  store 
when  we  shut  ourselves  up  in  the  church,  and  it  was  seventy- 
two  hours  since  the  last  morsel  was  consumed. 

The  oven,  with  all  the  defects  that  can  be  well  imagined, 
but  useful  for  the  immediate  supply  of  so  precious  an  article, 
was  finished  that  afternoon.  To  facilitate  the  washing  of  the 
few  articles  of  clothing  that  still  remained  to  us  (thanks  to 
the  honest  inhabitants,  who  could  not  carry  it  all  away),  we 
sawed  in  two  another  empty  wine-barrel,  like  the  one  sunk  in 
the  well,  and  thus  provided  ourselves  with  two  fine  wooden 
tubs.  Two  tin  cans  that  had  held  Australian  meat  served  as 
buckets  to  fill  these  tubs.  We  now  needed  only  a  better  supply 
of  clothing  to  make  our  washing  arrangements  more  complete, 
since  some  of  us  had  to  go  naked,  or  little  less  than  naked,  if 
we  wished  to  indulge  in  the  luxury  of  clean  clothing. 


30  Under  the  Red  and   Gold. 

^Yllile  we  omitted  no  precautions  necessary  to  prolonged 
resistance,  neither  was  the  enemy  wanting  in  diligence.  Ee- 
duccd  to  the  narrow  inclosure  of  that  humble  church,  where 
nothing  appeared  more  remote  than  divine  worship,  and  where 
surelv  never  was  God  more  earnestly  invoked  and  reverenced 
than  in  tlioso  days  so  bitter,  we  had  to  look  on,  day  after  day, 
without  power  to  prevent  it,  while  the  trenches  of  the  siege 
were  stretching  out,  belting  about  and  shutting  us  in,  forming 
something  very  like  the  web  that  the  spider  so  skillfully  weaves 
to  make  secure  against  the  writliings  and  attempts  to  escape 
of  his  victim. 

We  could  not  neutralize  those  labors  because  the  numer- 
ical superiority  of  the  enemy  was  great,  and  any  attempt  on 
our  part  would  have  caused  useless  loss,  a  disaster,  material 
and  moral,  which  wc  could  not  afford  to  risk. 

Xeither  was  the  enemy  exposing  himself  while  construct- 
ing the  approaches.  He  very  well  knew  the  danger  of  expos- 
ure and  took  advantage  of  the  cover  afforded  by  the  darkness 
of  the  night.  We  were  on  the  alert  to  fire  toward  the  point 
where  we  heard  a  noise,  but  the  sound  of  the  waves  of  the  near- 
by sea  helped  also  to  protect  the  enemy.  Thus  they  were  able 
to  bring  their  trenches  to  within  fifty  jiaces  of  us  at  some 
points,  and  even  within  twenty  paces  at  others,  tracing  a  line, 
rather  irregular,  but  covered  and  protected  at  various  ])oints 
by  the  houses  nearest  the  church. 

In  approaching  the  latter  at  the  points  that  seemed  to  be 
the  most  vulnerable  they  leveled  some  of  those  habitations, 
transforming  them  into  regular  field-works,  which  gave  excel- 
lent protection  against  our  projectiles  and  from  wliich  they 
could  annoy  us  at  will,  thanks  to  a  kind  of  parapet  that  they 
raised  in  each  one,  the  parapet  being  loopholed  and  perfectly 
disposed  and  revetted. 


Under  the  Red  axd  Gold.  31 

Up  to  the  present  I  had  been  obliged  to  record  more  than 
one  instance  of  that  most  infamous  and  detestable  crime  that 
a  soldier  can  commit — desertion.  As  a  contrast  to  such  cow- 
ardly acts,  it  is  now  a  pleasure  to  record  a  deed  of  self- 
abnegation  and  heroism  worthy  of  encomium,  l)y  a  most  modest 
individual,  Gregorio  Catalan  Yalero.  It  is  the  first  of  those 
made  memorable  by  the  siege  and  it  is,  as  well,  among  those 
that  deserve  special  mention. 

Little  was  wanting  now  to  the  completion  of  that  girdle 
of  trenches,  and  we  saw  that,  to  obtain  a  strong  support,  they 
were  directing  it  towards  the  barracks  of  the  Guardia  Civil, 
situated  less  than  fifteen  paces  from  the  church,  near  the 
northeast  corner.  From  there  it  was  plain  that  they  could  do 
us  much  damage  because  of  the  proximity  and  condition  of  the 
building,  and  of  the  command  it  gave  them  against  us. 

It  was  necessary  to  destroy  it  at  all  hazard,  and  Gregorio 
did  it  with  a  serenity  and  boldness  truly  admirable.  He  dashed 
out  of  the  church,  and  under  a  heavy  fire  kindled  not  only  the 
barracks  but  also  the  school  buildings,  and  with  such  skill  and 
deliberation  that  they  were  completely  destroyed,  in  spite  of 
the  swarm  of  Insurrectos  who,  although  so  numerous,  did  not 
dare  to  defy  our  bullets  and  expose  themselves  openly  to  pre- 
vent the  realization  of  that  undertaking. 

Gregorio  Catalan  may  still  be  living."^  If  he  should  read 
these  pages,  I  hope  he  may  regard  it  as  a  modest  recompense 
that  I  can  in  this  way  give  him  praise. 

As  our  soldier  needs  only  an  example,  the  initiative,  for 
him  to  go  wherever  we  will  lead  him,  a  few  days  later  another 
boy,  Manuel  Xavarro  Leon,  a  victim  later  of  the  epidemic  that 


*It  has  come  to  my  notice,  since  writing  the  above,  that  Catalan 
died  in  great  poverty,  a  victim  of  the  disabilities  incurred  during 
the  siege.  > 


32  Under  the   Eed   axd   Gold. 

we  suffered,  succeeded  in  setting  fire  to  another  near-by  house, 
from  which  the  enemy  liad  been  firing  at  us. 

This  display  of  stubborn  resistance,  united  to  our  constant 
vigilance,  which  we  showed  in  taking  advantage  of  any  care- 
lessness on  the  enemy^s  side  and  not  allowing  him  to  show 
himself  with  impunity,  caused  the  enemy,  naturally,  to  become 
impatient ;  with  the  result  that  it  was  not  long  before  we  noticed 
that  he  was  preparing  to  make  an  assault. 

Meanwhile  we  also  made  suitable  preparations,  filling  in 
the  lower  half  of  each  door  and  covering  the  upper  half  with 
bundles  of  blankets  or  boxes  filled  with  earth.  The  windows 
were  treated  in  the  same  way,  so  that  no  one  could  enter  that 
way,  and  loopholes  were  made. 

In  order  that  we  might  get  out  should  any  reason  for  do- 
ing so  offer  itself,  we  left  a  small  opening  in  the  door  in  the 
east  wall  of  the  church.  We  were  thus  locked  in  so  tightly 
that  only  one  terrible  intruder  could  make  his  way  into  our 
refuge,  his  way  becoming,  for  this  same  reason,  every  moment 
more  easy :  Death. 

On  the  8th  of  July  the  leader,  Cirilo  Gomez  Ortiz,  sent 
us  a  letter,  asking  for  a  suspension  of  hostilities,  in  order  that 
the  people  might  have  a  rest  from  continual  fighting.  The 
man  affected  the  generous  roJe ;  and,  saying  that  he  had  learned 
from  deserters  that  we  were  suffering  in  the  matter  of  subsist- 
ence, he  offered  us  whatever  we  might  need,  and  proposed  that 
we  send  two  unarmed  men  for  it.  As  an  earnest  of  the  offer, 
he  sent  with  the  letter  a  small  box  of  cigarettes  for  the  Captain 
and  a  trifle  for  each  of  the  soldiers. 

The  suspension  was  agreed  upon  (and  nobody  needed  it 
more  than  we  did)  until  niglitfall,  at  which  time  it  was  agreed 
that  the  firing  might  begin  again.  We  thanked  Ortiz  for  his 
kind  offer,  and  informed  him  that  we  had  an  abundance  of  all 


UxDER  THE   Red   and   Gold.  33 

kinds  of  provisions;  and,  in  return  for  his  civilities,  sent  him 
a  bottle  of  sherry,  in  order  that  he  niioht  drink  our  health,  and 
a  handful  of  regalias. 

At  the  time  agreed  upon  hostilities  wore  renewed,  and 
were  not  again  interrupted  during  the  whole  siege. 

Those  people  resorted  to  every  kind  of  expedient  to  ac- 
complish our  surrender.  Seeing  that  the  news  of  their  victo- 
ries throughout  the  Island  had  no  effect  upon  us.  they  tried 
to  intimidate  us  with  the  network  of  trendies  they  had  drawn 
around  us;  they  then  resorted,  as  just  related,  to  i)olite  offers; 
and,  not  gaining  anything  by  this,  they  tried  to  alarm  us  by  a 
theatrical  arrangement  of  trumpets,  which,  by  sounding  and  re- 
peating calls  at  various  distances,  were  intended  to  indicate  the 
presence  of  a  very  large  force.  This  is  a  device  which  has  been 
recorded  in  the  military  history  of  more  tlian  one  campaign, 
and  which  did  not  succeed  in  its  object. 

They  also  added  the  most  tremendous  threats  and  (it  is 
painful  to  record  it)  the  vile  impudence  of  a  pack  of  traitors 
from  our  own  army,  who  continually  cried  out  that  we  had 
deceived  the  Detachment,  that  we  were  going  to  cause  its  ruin, 
that  we  were  lost,  and  so  on  to  tiie  same  effect;  calling  to  the 
soldiers  also  that  they  should  esca])e,  that  they  should  not  per- 
persist  in  their  folly,  that  they  would  ojily  miserably  ])erish  in 
the  church,  that  (leaving  the  ollli-ers  to  defend  themselves  if 
they  wished)  they  should  save  their  own  lives,  that  they  would 
be  well  treated,  and  that  they  would  gain  every  advantage  l)y 
deserting  to  the  enemy's  cam]:).  Against  this  fire  of  \vords, 
strong  walls  and  loopholes  were,  on  the  whole,  useless;  there 
was  nothing  for  it  but  constant  vigilance. 

On  the  18th  a  private,  Julian  Galvete  Iturmendi,  was  se- 
verely wounded,  and  died  on  the  31st,  in  consequence  of  the 
wound.     The  Christian  duties  we  owed  to  his  remains  necessi- 


34  UxDER   THE   Red   and   Gold. 

tated  the  devotion  of  that  enclosure  to  one  more  sad  purpose — 
that  of  a  cemetery. 

On  the  18th  also  we  received  a  letter  for  the  Politico- 
]\lilitarv  Governor  and  Friar  Gomez  Carreno.  It  was  signed 
l)y  a  colleague  of  the  latter.  Friar  Leoncio  Gomez  Platero.  He 
advised  us  to  surrender,  urging  us  to  give  up  our  arms  to  the 
leader,  C'alixto  Yillacorta,  to  accept  cheerfully  tlie  Katipunan; 
adding  that  we  would  he  treated  witli  all  manner  of  consider- 
ation and  embarked  immediately  for  Spain,  as  had  already 
been  the  case  with  the  rest  of  the  detachments,  almost  all  of 
which  had  surrendered  ^^it]iOt^t  a  fight.  The  letter  v:as  kindly 
written,  with  a  certain  eloquence  of  the  kind  used  l)y  death-bed 
confessors.     It  was  not  answered. 

But  the  urgent  communication  that  we  received  the  fol- 
lowing day,  the  IfJtli  of  July,  from  Yillacorta,  could  not  be 
treated  in  the  san:e  way.     He  said: 

^■'i  have  just  arrived,  wiili  lbe  three  coltimns  of  mv  com- 
mand; and,  aware  of  the  useless  resistance  y(m  are  keejung  up, 
I  inform  you  tliat  if  you  will  lay  down  yotir  arms  within 
twentv-four  hours,  1  shall  respect  your  lives  and  pro])erty,  treat- 
ing you  with  evciw  consideration.  Otherwise,  I  shall  force  you 
to  deliver  tliem ;  1  s'iiall  have  compassion  on  no  one;  and  shall 
hold  the  offii-ers  responsible  J'or  every  fatality  that  raav  occur. 

■•'Given  at  my  headquarters,  the  19th  of  July,  1898. 

"CaUxto   TUJnr-oi-ta." 

I'he  following  morning  he  was  answered  as  follows: 

'"At  midday  to-day  terniinates  the  period  fixed  in  your 
threat.  The  officers  cannot  lie  lield  responsible  for  the  fatal- 
ities that  occur.  We  are  united  in  the  determination  to  do  our 
duty,  and  you  are  to  imderstand  that  if  you  get  possession  of 
the  church,  it  will  be  only  when  there  is  left  in  it  nothing  but 
dead  bodies;  death  being  preferable  to  dishonor.'" 

And  it  was  indeed  true  that  we  preferred  death. 


UxDER  THE   Red   axd   Gold.  35 


IV. 

FEOM  THE  ?OTn  OF  JULY  TO  THE  SOtii  OF 
>SErTEMBER. 

The  firixg  ixcreases. — Artillery  of  the  defexse. — Let- 
tees  FRo:\r  the  ex]:.my. — Artillery  of  the  siege. — Ax- 
other  DESERTER. — Atte:*ipti:d  assault. — Religious  mes- 

SEX'GERS.  —  PrOVIDEXTIAL     CHASTISE^klEXT.  —  CASUALTIES 

ixcREASE. — The  beri-i^epvI.  —  Death  of  Friar  Carrex'o. 
— Heroism  of  Roviro. — Letter  fro.m  Dupuy  de  Lo:\ie. — 
More  proofs  of  the  disaster. — It  caxxot  be  I 

The  constant  fire  of  the  enemy,  at  times  furionsly  general 
and  sustained,  as  thoiigli  tliey  were  trying  to  suddenly  annihi- 
late us,  to  blot  us  out;  and  at  other  times  slow  and  deliberate, 
as  though  they  desired  only  to  remind  us  of  the  extremity  we 
had  reached;  tbe  increasing  casualties;  the  appearance  of  dis- 
ease, the  symptoms  of  wliieb  were  very  alarming;  the  annoying 
affliction  of  letters,  warnings,  and  counsel;  treason  which  never 
sleeps;  and  the  melancholy  situation  of  the  Mother  Country, 
which  was  becoming  more  and  more  clear  to  our  eyes — make 
up  the  picture,  so  to  speak,  of  the  seventy-two  days  of  the  siege 
of  which  I  shall  treat  in  this  chapter. 

At  twelve  o'clock  midday  of  the  20th  the  time  tLxed  by 
Villacorta  expired,  and  at  that  hour  there  broke  forth  from  the 
whole  of  the  enemy's  line  a  most  furious  firing,  which  lasted 
until  the  following  morning. 

In  order  to  economize  in  the  expenditure  of  cartridges  as 
well  as  to  incite  the  enemy  to  assault,  we  had  determined  not 
to  reply  to  his  fire;  but,  observing  our  silence,  Villacorta,  in- 
stead of  sending  those  '"'columns  under  his  command,"  sent  us 


36  UXDER    THE    EeD    AXD     GoLD. 

another  message,  saying  that  he  would  not  expend  any  more 
powder  to  no  purpose,  and  that  he  would  not  raise  the  siege, 
even  though  it  should  be  ])rolonged  for  three  years.  "I  shall 
not  leave  Baler/'  he  said,  "until  I  have  made  you  surrender/' 
It  is  proper  to  observe  that  while  we  were  reading  about  his 
purpose  not  to  expend  any  more  powder  in  vain,  the  firing  was 
going  on  undiminished. 

On  our  part,  while  we  were  firmly  determined  to  econ- 
omize ammunition,  we  did  make  an  effort  to  furnish  an  ac- 
companiment for  that  noise.  "We  found  in  the  church  several 
old  cannon.  I  do  not  know  how  old  they  were  nor  by  what 
chain  of  circumstances  they  happened  to  be  there.  There  were 
no  vestiges  of  a  gun-carriage  nor  any  accessories.  A  singular 
expedient  occurred  to  us;  and  since  there  was  no  powder  for 
the  cannon,  it  may  be  affirmed  that  we  invented  a  kind  of 
artillery. 

\Ye  took  some  rockets  to  pieces  and  emptied  some  Reming- 
ton cartridges;  we  mixed  the  explosives  thus  obtained;  and,  se- 
lecting one  of  the  smallest  guns,  we  put  in  it  more  than  a  suf- 
ficient quantity  of  the  mixture  and  filled  it  to  the  muzzle  with 
balls. 

Carrying  the  gun  thus  prepared,  by  hand,  to  one  of  the 
loopholes  we  had  made  in  the  foundation  wall  of  the  convent 
(now  our  corral),  we  suj^ported  the  muzzle  in  the  loophole;  and, 
using  a  strong  rope  for  the  purpose,  we  suspended  the  othei 
end,  by  the  cascabel,  from  one  of  the  floor-lK'ams  that  we  had 
left  in  place.  This  allowed  us  to  incline  the  plane  of  fire,  af- 
ter a  fashion,  and  to  that  extent  to  get  some  sort  of  aim. 

The  piece  being  in  place  and  our  ears  well  stopped,  we 
selected  a  bamboo  from  the  longest  we  had,  tied  a  piece  of  fuse 
to  the  end  of  it,  set  fire  to  it  carefully,  got  as  far  away  as  we 
could,  and  then  came  surjjrise  and  noise  enough  I     The  result 


Under  the  Eed  and  Gold.  37 

was  something  like  the  formidable  blow  of  a  battering-ram,  the 
recoil  of  the  piece  being  such  that,  darting  from  the  loophole 
like  a  projectile,  it  struck  the  opposite  wall,  about  eight  feet 
away,  with  a  blow  that  made  the  foundations  tremble.  "Fire ! 
fire!"  cried  the  Insurrectos;  "but  just  wait  until  we  get  our 
cannon !" 

Among  the  numerous  messages,  and  we  received  them  al- 
most daily,  it  is  proper  to  now  mention  one  that  was  brought 
to  us  by  two  Spaniards.  One  of  them  was  recognized  by  some 
of  the  soldiers  who  had  belonged  to  Mota's  detachment.  "That 
one,"  they  told  us,  "was  a  corporal  in  the  veteran  Guardia  Civil 
and  commanded  the  post  at  Carranglan.  We  saw  him  there 
when  we  passed  through  there  in  September  on  our  way  to 
Baler." 

My  comrade  Alonso's  servant,  Jaime  Caldentey,  added  that 
the  man  was  a  countryman  and  friend  of  his  from  Mallorea. 

With  him  came  another  man,  a  very  tall  one,  called  "the 
standard-bearer."  The  j\Iallorcan  probably  did  not  have  the 
enemy's  full  confidence,  and  for  that  reason  the  other  was  sent 
with  him,  to  avoid  indiscretions.  Alonso  ordered  Jaime  that, 
speaking  Mallorcan,  he  should  invite  "the  standard-bearer"  to 
join  us,  telling  him  that  we  had  an  abundance  of  supplies  and 
means  of  defense. 

The  servant  obeyed;  but  the  other,  pretending  tbat  he  did 
not  understand  the  Mallorcan  dialect,  replied  in  a  loud  voice 
that  he  had  parents,  brothers,  and  great  love  for  his  country; 
that  he  did  not  abandon  hope  of  seeing  them;  and  that  he  was 
very  sure  that  if  we  persisted  in  the  defense,  we  should  all  per- 
ish, because,  all  the  Peninsular  forces  having  surrendered,  we 
could  receive  no  help  and  were  lost. 

On  hearing  these  words  I  could  not  contain  myself,  and 
said  to  him  angrily:  "You  are  the  one  that  is  lost;  and  now 


38  TJntder  the  Eed   axd   Gold. 

take  yourself  away  from  here."  Perhaps  I  should  have  re- 
mained silent;  but  I  leave  it  to  anyone  to  judge  whether  or 
not  his  answers  were  enough  to  arouse  indignation,  although 
they  may  have  been  made  only  for  the  sound  or  for  the  way 
they  might  strike  the  ears  of  the  soldiers. 

On  the  31st  Yillacorta  wrote  us  again,  saying  that  if  by 
the  following  day  (August  1st)  we  did  not  surrender,  he 
would  resort  to  cannon  fire  and  would  bring  our  refuge  to  the 
ground,  showing  mercy'  to  no  one.  They  had,  it  seems,  re- 
ceived some  guns;  btit  we  soon  discovered  that  they  were  prob- 
ably of  the  same  types  as  those  we  had. 

It  is  needless  to  say  that  they  were  enabled  to  do  great 
damage  to  the  walls  of  the  church.  This  fact  may  well  serve 
as  a  commentary  on  those  wlio  have  affirmed,  sttrely  talking  at 
random,  that  we  in  the  church  at  Baler  had  no  serious  attacks 
to  withstand. 

As  Yillacorta  threatened  so  lie  did.  Xo  sooner  had  twelve 
o'clock  arrived  that  same  night  than  from  three  directions  at 
the  same  time,  from  the  south,  east,  and  west,  the  cannonade 
commenced;  although,  fortunately,  without  other  damage  than 
the  destrttction  visited  on  the  doors  and  roof.  The  doors  were 
not  splintered,  but  the  bundles  of  blankets  that  we  had  used  in 
covering  them  were  sent  flying  throtigh  the  air,  opening  a  free 
passage  for  the  balls  and  canister  which,  from  all  sides,  were 
rained  against  the  doors.  The  damage  done  to  the  roof  left  us 
all  but  completely  exposed  to  the  weather. 

On  August  3d  we  lost  another  man  by  desertion,  the  serv- 
ant Jaime,  who  carried  away  with  him  liis  arms,  ammunition, 
and  equipments.  He  accomplished  this  while  he  was  a  sentry  at 
the  window  to  the  right  of  the  altar,  from  which  he  jumped  to 
the  ground;  and  it  was  stipposed  that  he  deserted  because  of  a 
reprimand  he  had  recently  received  from  Alonso,  who  had  found 


Under  the  Eed   axd   Gold.  39 

him  playing  cards.  That  may  have  been  the  reason,  but  it  is 
as  lilcely  that  he  conceived  the  idea,  and  perhaps  said  so,  at  the 
time  he  had  the  conversation  in  ^lallorcan. 

This  occurrence  came  very  near  being  the  occasion  of  a 
catastrophe.  Alonso  had  an  idea  that  the  enemy  could  easily 
set  fire  to  the  church  from  the  north  side,  where  there  was  only 
one  sentinel  posted  on  the  wall,  and  he  was  not  careful  to  keep 
that  idea  to  himself.  Taking  possession  of  his  mind  as  it  did, 
and  not  without  reason,  it  was  frequently  the  theme  of  conver- 
sation between  us. 

His  rascally  servant,  as  it  soon  appeared,  did  not  forget 
to  communicate  it  to  someone  who  could  make  use  of  the  in- 
formation. The  result,  as  we  very  soon  experienced,  was  an 
attack,  four  days  later,  on  that  north  wall. 

The  enemy  tried  to  surprise  its  and  brought  with  him  ev- 
erything necessary  for  setting  fire  to  the  building.  There  was 
a  heavy  increase  in  the  firing  on  the  north  side  of  the  church, 
while  a  party  were  raising  a  ladder  and  trnng  to  gain  the  wall. 
Their  success  would  have  been  the  beginning  of  our  ruin. 

Fortunately,  tliey  placed  the  ladder  riglit  next  to  where 
the  sentry  was  posted.  The  cry  of  alarm  rang  out.  Hurrying 
to  the  point  of  danger,  we  had  a  lively  liltle  fight  on  our  hands, 
the  enemy  displaying  a  tenacity  of  purpose  that  was  quite 
unexpected. 

As  the  enemy's  obstinacy  was  great,  and  as  the  assault 
gave  signs  of  continuing  longer  than  was  desirable,  it  occurred 
to  us  to  feign  a  sally.  The  trumpeter  was  ordered  to  sound 
the  attack  vigorously.  Lieutenant  Alonso,  his  voice  ringing 
above  the  tumult,  cried,  "To  Hernandez'  house  I"  (one  of  the 
fortified  houses)  ;  and  then,  by  delivering  a  very  rapid  fire,  we 
succeeded  in  intimidating  the  rebels,  who  betook  themselves  to 
flisfht  in  such  haste  that  some  of  them  threw  themselves  from 


40  U]ST)ER    THE    EeD     AXD     GoLD. 

the  top  of  the  ladder,  abandoning  it  and  leaving  behind  the 
rags  and  jDetroleum  with  which  they  had  provided  themselves 
for  the  conilagration. 

Tlie  attack  was  repulsed,  but  the  cannon  and  rifle  fire  con- 
tinued from  the  enemy's  trenches.  They  left  us  the  ladder; 
but,  as  we  could  not  leave  the  church  to  get  it,  we  could  do 
nothing  with  it  but  suspend  it  securely  from  a  roof-beam,  so 
that  they  could  neither  utilize  it  nor  carry  it  away. 

On  the  15th,  the  Assumption  of  Our  Lady,  Private  Pedro 
Planas  Basaganas  was  wounded.  On  the  20th  Yillacorta  asked 
us  for  a  short  parley,  sending  to  us  the  priest  of  Casiguran, 
Friar  Juan  Lopez  Guillen,  who  was  followed  in  a  short  time 
by  another  curate,  of  the  same  parish,  Friar  Felix  Minaya. 

Both  of  these  priests  did  all  they  cotild  to  incline  us  to 
surrender,  without  adding  any  new  arguments  to  those  we  had 
already  heard  so  often,  but  strengthening  them  with  all  the 
coloring  their  eloquence  could  supply. 

They  were  not  at  all  successful,  and  Las  Morenas  agreed  to 
allow  them  to  remain  with  us.  I  am  ignorant  of  the  motives 
that  prompted  this  resolution,  but  I  must  suppose  that  they 
were  not  merely  capricious;  becatise,  on  account  of  the  scarcity 
of  rations  in  our  possession,  we  were  not  in  position  for  an  in- 
crease of  useless  mouths  to  feed. 

These  two  priests  remained  with  us  until  the  capitulation. 
After  the  latter  had  been  concluded,  the  Tagalogs  said  that 
they  needed  the  priests  for  religion.  The  priests  accordingly 
remained  witli  them,  to  the  great  satisfaction  of  all  concerned. 

A  pleasing  piece  of  news,  if  the  chastisement  of  a  criminal 
can  be  a  pleasure,  reached  us  through  these  priests.  Jaime  Cal- 
dentey,  whose  treachery  must  have  incited  the  assault  that 
came  so  near  putting  an  end  to  the  defense,  had  been  killed; 
and  this  had  happened  at  a  moment  when  he  was  showing  his 
animosity  toward  us. 


Under  the  Eed  axd   Gold.  41 

On  the  clay  following  his  desertion  to  the  enemy  he  wished 
to  fire  a  cannon  against  us,  and  in  attempting  to  do  so  he  fell, 
shot  through  l)y  one  of  our  projectiles. 

In  the  course  of  human  events  there  are  often  coincidences 
so  strange  tliat  tliey  cause  even  the  least  believing,  the  most 
siveptical,  to  reflect  upon  the  supreme  judgments  of  an  inex- 
orable justice,  tlie  justice  of  Divine  Providence. 

From  the  20th  of  August  to  the  25th  of  September  there 
were  no  extraordinary  events  to  record.  The  firing  continued 
and  we  had  some  wounded,  l)ut  none  seriously. 

On  September  25tli  tlie  '"intruder"  of  which  I  have  before 
spoken,  and  of  whicli  I  said  that  the  more  we  attempted  to  pre- 
vent all  entrance  the  more  we  facilitated  his  ravages,  made 
known,  by  claiming  his  first  victim,  his  inevitable  appearance 
among  us. 

The  fatigues  of  the  siege,  the  scarcity  and  bad  condition 
of  our  rations,  the  persistent  and  ever-present  anxiety,  the  viti- 
ated air  and  tlie  other  very  Ijad  hygienic  conditions  to  which  we 
Avere  subjected,  the  constant  firing,  the  insufficient  policing  and 
cleaning,  were  bound  to  produce,  under  that  burning  sky  and 
those  humid  winds,  the  fatal  epidemic  against  which  we  had 
no  defense. 

The  disease  which  now  attacked  us  is  a  terrible  one,  not 
only  in  its  termination,  Init  also  on  account  of  the  steady  ad- 
vance it  makes  as  it  goes  on  devouring,  so  to  speak,  and  anni- 
hilating its  victim.  It  is  called  beri-beri.  It  begins  its  inva- 
sions through  the  lower  extremities,  which  it  swells  and  ren- 
ders useless,  covering  them  with  loathsome  tumefactions.  The 
attack  is  preceded  by  excessive  debility  and  convulsive  trem- 
blings. It  goes  on  rising  and  rising  until,  when  in  its  devel- 
opment it  reaches  certain  organs,  it  produces  death  with  fright- 
ful sufferings. 


42  Under  the   Eed   and   Gold. 

The  former  priest  of  Baler,  Friar  Candido  Gomez  Car- 
reno,  'was  its  first  victim.  He  died  September  25th,  the  sev- 
enty-seventh day  of  the  siege,  and  the  day  wlion  we  had  the 
first  definite  news  of  the  surrender  of  Manila,  which  we  learned 
through  an  artifice  of  the  enemy. 

While  Carreiio  was  dying  a  parley  sounded,  and  there  pre- 
sented himself  one  Pedro  Aragon,  an  inhabitant  of  Baler  and 
known  as  "the  husband  of  Cenaida,'"  bogging  to  be  allowed  to 
speak  to  the  priest.  He  informed  us  that  ho  had  been  a  pris- 
oner at  Manila,  having  been  implicated  in  the  attack  on  Mota's 
detachment;  but  that  he  had  l)een  set  at  liberty  on  the  surren- 
der of  the  city,  and  that  he  was  ordered  to  tell  about  it.  and 
other  important  matters,  to  the  priest,  hi  order  to  see  if  lie 
could  convince  us,  and  if  we  ^^■ould  surrender. 

He  was  to]d  tliat  Friar  Candido  was  ill  and  could  not 
see  hhn,  but  that  he  could  wait  and  could  speak  to  tlie  ])rie5t 
Juan  Lopez.  He  said,  "Very  welJ,"  and  waited  a  short  time, 
during  which  he  began  to  weep:  and.  the  priest  not  ap])ear- 
ing,  tlie  man  l)cgan  to  suspect  somolhing  wrong,  and  went 
away  at  a  run. 

On  Septoml)cr  ^JOth  the  dysentery  killed  another  soldier, 
Francisco  Eovira  ]iIomp6.  wlio,  for  his  bravery  and  excellence 
of  character,  was  deserving  of  a  better  fate. 

This  valiant  man  was  grievously  ill,  with  his  legs  usele>s 
because  he  was  also  suffering  with  Ijeri-beri,  when,  on  one  oc- 
casion, the  firing  of  the  enemy  became  so  heayv  that  we  all 
thought  an  assault  was  impending.  Ho  attempted  to  rise,  bul 
could  not  stand.  He  then  dragged  himself  along  the  ground 
and  placed  himself  near  a  hole  in  one  of  the  doors.  There  he 
fixed  his  bayonet  and,  stretched  on  the  ground,  waited  for  the 
adversary  to  present  himself. 

All  this  time  proofs  of  the  misfortunes  that  had  come  to 


Under  the   Eed   axd   Gold.  43 

the  Mother  Country  continued  to  multipl}'.  On  this  same  day, 
the  30th,  we  received  a  letter  from  the  Civil  Governor  of  Xueva 
Ecija,  Sehor  Dupuy  de  Lome,  in  which  ho  informed  us  of  the 
loss  of  the  Philippines.  Las  ^lorenas  himself,  who  said  he 
knew  Seiior  de  Lome,  could  do  no  less  than  acknowledge  that  if 
he  had,  under  other  circumstances,  received  such  a  letter  ask- 
ing him  for  money,  he  would  have  sent  it  without  hesitating  a 
single  moment;  because  the  writiug,  witli  which  he  said  he 
was  acquainted,  was  no  doubt  genuine. 

Following  this  came  rumors  of  the  surrender  oE  ]\Lijor 
Don  Juan  Genova  Iturbide,  of  CajDtain  Don  Federico  Ramiro 
de  Toledo,  and  of  others  whom  I  do  not  now  recall.  A  little 
while  later  they  informed  us  that  Major  Ceballos,  stationed  at 
Dagupan,  had  surrendered  with  fifty  rifles;  that  General  Au- 
gusti  had  surrendered  in  Manila  because  his  wife  was  a  ])ris- 
oner  in  the  hands  of  the  Tagalogs;  and  of  other  events  of  this 
kind. 

The  series  closed  with  a  letter  from  the  curate  of  Palanan, 
Friar  ]\Iariano  Gil  Atienza,  summing  up  and  confirming  all, 
and  telling  us  tluit  the  Archipelago  was  lost;  that  there  was 
now  no  reason  for  our  further  defense;  and  that  we  ought  im- 
mediately to  lay  down  our  arms,  without  fear  or  sus])icion,  lie- 
cause  we  would  be  treated  with  every  consideration. 

It  must  1)0  confessed  that  so  mucli  and  such  diverse  testi- 
mony might  have  been  more  than  enough  to  convince  any'iody 
of  the  truth  of  the  stories.  But  we  knew  that  the  enemy,  be- 
cause of  their  self-conceit,  were  eager  to  bring  about  our  sur- 
render; and  this  idea  confirmed  us  in  the  belief  that  all  we 
had  heard  was  imaginary,  falsified,  concocted  to  deceive  us. 

For  this  reason,  when  they  told  us  that  they  had  with 
them  a  number  of  those  who  had  surrendered,  we  replied  that 
those  persons  should  be  brought  out  so  tluat  we  might  see  them; 


44  Under  the  Eed  and   Gold. 

which  they  refused,  saying  that  what  we  wished  was  to  shut 
up  our  friends  with  us,  as  we  had  the  friars.  On  this  account 
we  gave  credit  neither  to  the  letter  from  the  Governor  of 
ISTueva  Ecija,  nor  to  official  reports,  nor  to  anything  else.  We 
could  not  conceive  that  our  dominion  could  be  so  easily  lost. 
We  were  unable  to  admit  even  the  possibility  of  a  fall  so  rapid 
and  so  astoimdino-  as  that. 


Under  the  Eed  and   Gold.  45 


FEOM   THE   1st   OF   OCTOBEK   TO   THE   22d   OF 
NOVEMBEE. 

The  wounded.  —  Death  of  my  comrade  Alonso.  —  I  take 

command  of  the  detachment. hygienic  measures. — ■ 

Nocturnal  rounds.  —  New  warnings.  —  Casualties.  — 
Wooden  shoes. — Death  of  Captain  Don  Enrique  Las 
Morenas. — The  situation. 

The  beginning  of  the  autumn  of  1898  was  a  sad  one  for 
us.  Nature,  which  in  those  lands  displays  generous  luxuriance, 
could  not  present  itself  to  our  sight  with  those  golden  tints 
which  in  other  lands  are  precursors  of  the  melancholy  days  of 
November;  not  a  single  leaf  fell  from  the  trees  tliat  had  not 
been  cut  off  by  the  bullets  we  were  exchanging  with  the  enemy 
— the  firing  heavy  at  times  and  deliberate  at  others,  but  always 
kept  up;  not  a  single  bird  of  the  kinds  that  announce  the  win- 
ter migration  was  to  be  seen  flying  through  the  air;  but  there, 
among  ourselves,  coincident,  though  sadly,  with  the  autumn 
of  other  lands,  began  another  kind  of  decay,  a  decay  most 
distressing. 

A  corpse-like  pallor,  the  consequence  of  fatigue  and  hun- 
ger, was  beginning  to  mark  us  all,  the  symptom  of  a  certain 
decay  that  would  soon  mean  the  grave;  the  inexplicable  chill 
that  benumbed  us  passed  over  us  at  times ;  and  in  action,  speech, 
and  look  it  was  plain  that  the  few  sparks  of  hope  which  had 
sustained  us  were  expiring. 

On  the  9th  of  October  Corporal  Jose  Olivares  Conejero, 
and  on  the  10th  his  comrade,  Corporal  Jose  Chaves  Martin, 
and  Private  Eamon  Donant  Pastor,  died  of  beri-beri,  passing 


46  UxDER  THE  Bed  axd   Gold. 

to  the  better  life  sanctified  by  the  sufferings  of  martyrs.  On 
the  loth  the  doctor,  Seiior  Vigil,  was  seriously  wounded.  I 
also  was  slightly  wounded,  as  was  Private  Eamon  Mir  Brils, 
who  thus  a  second  time  attained  this  sacrifice  for  his  country. 

But  the  18th  was  still  more  melancholy  and  sad  for  us 
all.  The  second  lietttenant,  Don  Juan  Alonso  Zayas,  suc' 
cumbed  to  the  epidemic,  which  had  now,  with  this  never-to-be- 
forgotten  comrade,  taken  the  fotirth  part  of  its  victims.  Alon- 
so was  an  excellent  soldier,  cast  in  the  mold  of  heroes,  a  good 
comrade,  and  his  loss  oppressed  us  bitterly. 

It  now  fell  to  me  to  take  command  of  the  force,  a  com- 
mand which  I  retained  until  the  first  of  September,  1899,  when 
we  disembarked  at  Barcelona. 

Tlie  enemy,  always  on  the  lookout  for  any  signs  of  negli- 
gence, required  much  attention;  but  the  beri-beri  developed  so 
alarmingly  that  there  remained  of  us  only  a  half-dozen  who 
were  not  infected.  It  was  necessary  to  combat  it,  and  to  do 
60  without  delay,  with  tlie  urgency  demanded  by  a  question 
of  life  01  death.  I  turned,  therefore,  and  immediately,  to  the 
sanitation  of  the  church. 

The  principal  need  was  ventilation,  to  carry  off  the  infec- 
tion deposited  in  the  lower  strata  of  that  air  little  less  than 
irrespirable,  corrupted  as  it  was  by  so  many  pernicious  emana- 
tions; and  it  was  necessary  to  secure  ventilation  without  prej- 
udicing the  security  of  the  defense. 

To  this  end  I  caused  the  barricade  to  be  cleared  away  from 
the  south  door;  and  behind  this,  at  the  distance  of  half  a  me- 
ter, forjuing  a  passageway,  we  placed  three  wine-casks  on  top 
of  a  thick  Iward,  and  on  top  of  these  a  row  of  chests  filled 
with  earth,  as  were  also  the  casks.  On  these,  and  quite  cover- 
ing the  opening,  we  placed  bundles  of  l)lankets,  solidly  propped. 
Two  holes  made  in  the  door,  near  tiie  ground  and  opposite  the 


U^T)ER  THE   Eed   axd   Gold.  47 

openings  left  purposely  between  the  casks,  permitted  ventila- 
tion from  below,  and  others  opened  at  a  suitable  height  served 
the  same  purpose  from  above,  as  well  as  for  the  no  less  im- 
portant loopholes.  In  order  to  remove  as  far  away  as  possible 
the  various  accumulations  of  filth,  the  decomposition  of  which 
was  extremely  dangerous  to  health,  I  caused  a  small  opening 
to  be  made  in  the  wall  of  the  corral  and  arranged  a  urinal  to 
carry  off  the  excreta. 

These  and  other  measures  were  not  much,  but  they  were 
of  pressing  necessity.  Such  was  the  extremity  to  which  we  had 
been  reduced  that  we  were  obliged  for  the  needs  of  the  defense 
to  make  use  of  those  even  who  were  sulferiug  from  the  epi- 
demic; and,  since  none  of  them  could  stand,  to  carry  them  in 
our  arms  to  their  respective  posts  as  sentinels.  There  we  placed 
them  on  chairs,  or  something  as  a  substitute,  and  left  them 
for  six  hours,  in  order  to  economize  reliefs.  We  managed  the 
reliefs  in  the  same  way,  carrying  the  old  reliefs,  one  by  one, 
from  their  posts  to  the  bed. 

Years  have  passed,  and  I  have  again  become  surrounded 
with  the  ordinary  circumstances  of  life  where  exertion  is  com- 
mensurate with  ordinary  human  conditions,  limited  as  they 
are;  and  I  must  confess  that  I,  although  day  after  day  a  wit- 
ness, an  actor,  a  stimulator  of  such  effort,  have  very  often 
doubted  whether  it  was  all  a  dream  of  knightly  fiction  instead 
of  a  positive  reality.  Six  long  hours  with  the  rifle  ready,  the 
legs  useless,  the  suffering  acute  and  constantly  increasing,  and 
those  men  appeared  to  be  contented ! 

While  Lieutenant  Alonso  was  yet  able,  we  took  turns  in 
watching  at  night;  he  taking  one  night  with  Las  Morenas  and 
I  the  next  with  the  doctor,  Sehor  Vigil,  who  devoted  himself 
to  everything  and  -.was  everywhere,  setting  an  example  of  self- 
abnegation  and  bravery.    But  when  Alonso  died,  and  I  saw  that 


48  Under  the  Red  and  Gold. 

Las  Morenas  must  succumb  to  the  weakness  he  was  suffering, 
I  abandoned  this  kind  of  watch  and  established  tlie  following, 
which  was  much  more  practical  and  which  gave  better  results : 
One  of  the  three  remained  always  on  watch,  relieving  each 
other  as  we  conveniently  could;  and  it  was  not  always  that  we 
could  get  sleep,  because  if  Las  Morenas  was  very  ill,  so  was  Vigil 
suffering  from  a  severe  wound.  The  corporal  of  the  relief  al- 
ternating with  the  soldiers  on  duty  made  the  rounds  of  the 
sentinels  every  five  minutes,  or,  rather,  in  turn,  one  after  the 
other,  each  when  the  other  had  returned. 

As  the  sentinels  Avere  almost  all  posted  in  elevated  posi- 
tions, and  as  it  was  necessary  to  avoid  making  their  positions 
known  to  the  enemy,  their  posts  were  called  in  a  low  tone,  thus : 
to  the  one  that  was  on  the  wall  behind  the  altar,  "Altar";  to 
the  one  at  its  right,  "Right'';  and  so  on.  Each  sentry  replied 
in  a  low  tone  and  bending  over,  so  as  not  to  be  heard  from  the 
outside,  and  so  as  to  prevent  his  position  from  being  discov- 
ered and  thus  making  known  the  weak  places  proper  for  as- 
sault. This  was  necessary  also  to  guard  against  the  enemy's 
approaching  cautiously  for  the  purpose  of  finding  out  who  was 
on  guard  and  where  posted,  which  could  have  been  very  easily 
done  for  the  simple  reason  that  the  deserters  knew  us  all  by  our 
voices. 

Lor  these  reasons  there  was  maintained  throughout  the 
night  a  silence  that  was  truly  sepulchral,  and  absolute  dark- 
ness. It  seemed  like  a  stage  filled  with  phantoms,  the  stillness 
broken  only  by  the  movements  of  the  one  who  was  making  the 
rounds,  his  suppressed  questions,  and  the  kind  of  convulsive 
sobs  which  served  as  answers. 

It  is  to  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  thing  that  troubled 
most  was  the  work  of  seduction  which  the  enemy  tried  in  every 
way  to  accomplish.     I  have  already  noted  the  cries  and  induce- 


Under  the  Bed  and   Gold.  49 

ments  b}'  means  of  which  they  had  tried  to  lure  away  our  sol- 
diers, who,  after  all,  were  only  men,  and  as  such  had  their 
moments  of  weakness.  I  had  therefore  to  forbid  all  personal 
communication  that  the  enemy  might  seek,  aud  tliis  was  one  of 
the  powerful   reasons  impellino-  us  to   such   extreme   vigihince. 

During  these  same  days  the  dcsei'ters  were  announcting 
that  Yillacorta  had  appointed  as  secretary  our  Hospital  Cori)S 
corporal,  and  that  he  had  made  my  former  servant,  Felipe  Her- 
rero  Lopez,  a  captain.  All  this  might  be  true  or  false;  but, 
although  it  was  more  likely  tlie  latter,  it  was  very  dangerous 
to  have  it  reach  our  soldiers  by  way  of  private  confidence. 

It  was  not  long  before  the  Insurrectos  again  wrote  to  us, 
laying  great  stress  on  the  end  of  our  dominion  in  the  Philip- 
pines and  trying  to  attract  us  with  the  promise  of  cml)arking 
us  immediately  for  Spain.  We  replied  that,  according  to  the 
laws  and  usages  of  war  in  cases  like  the  present,  the  vantiuished 
were  allowed  six  months  for  the  evacuation  of  the  territory; 
that  they  should  be  patient;  apparently,  we  were  left  to  be 
among  the  last  to  be  concentrated,  the  Cai)tain-General  know- 
ing, as  he  surely  must  know,  "the  large  amount  of  provisions, 
ammunition,  and  supplies"  that  we  had  at  our  disposal. 

To  this  they  replied  tluit  we  could  not  hope  for  any  con- 
centration by  our  generals,  because,  since  the  breaking  out  of 
hostilities  with  the  Americans,  they  had  no  longer  looked  afief 
the  detachments;  and  that  there  was  nothing  left  for  us  but 
immediate  surrender.  It  was  indeed  feared  that  this  might  be 
so;  but  we  replied,  as  we  should  have  replied,  that  "no  army 
on  abandoning  a  territory  could  forget  its  forces  that  were  com- 
promised in  the  field." 

Two  more  deaths  from  beri-beri  (one,  that  of  Private  Jose 
Lafarga,  on  the  22 d,  and  the  other,  that  of  Private  Eoman 
Lopez  Lozano,  on  the  25th)    completed  our  list  for  that  sad 


50  Under  the   Red  and   Gold. 

nionili  of  October,  with  the  addition  of  the  wounding  of  Private 
Miguel  Perez  Leal,  which  occurred  on  the  23d. 

By  this  time  the  force  had  become  shoeless.  If  some  indi- 
\iduals,  very  few,  had  not  reached  the  point  of  going  about 
with  bare  feet,  covering  them  only  with  rags,  the  remains  of 
the  soles  being  persistently  sewn  together  again  and  again,  \\hat 
they  wore,  if  it  served  for  anything,  it  was  certainly  not 
for  what  shoes  usually  serve,  but  rather  to  accentuate  their 
wretchedness. 

Believing  that  this  condition  might  contribute  to  the 
progress  of  the  epidemic,  through  the  humidity  of  the  ground, 
tliey  conceived  the  idea  of  making  a  kind  of  clog,  not  very 
beautiful,  but  quickly  made  and  sufficiently  serviceable.  They 
were  fashioned  out  of  pieces  of  wood,  and  fastened  to  the  foot 
as  well  as  might  be  with  packthread  or  cord.  They  were  not 
very  comfortable,  but  they  kept  the  feet  from  contact  with 
the   soil. 

And  now  came  the  month  of  Xovember,  consecrated  to  the 
dead  by  its  initial  fiesta  and  its  sorrows,  and  which  we  also 
were  to  consecrate  almost  exclusively  to  the  dead.  In  its  first 
"half  alone  four  more  soldiers  died  of  beri-beri.  In  the  second 
half  we  had  to  lament  another  and  more  grievous  loss,  which 
left  in  my  hands  as  a  matter  of  duty  and  right  what  I  had  al- 
ready exercised  for  some  days  through  necessity  and  misfortune. 

On  the  8t]i  the  mournful  filing  off  began  with  the  death 
of  Pri\ate  Juan  Fuentes  Damian,  followed  the  next  day  by  his 
companions,  Baldomero  Larrode  Parncui^llos  and  ]\Ianuel  Xav- 
arro  Leon;  and  after  these,  on  the  14th,  died  Pedro  Izquierdo 
y  Arnaiz;  all  passing  through  horrible  agonies,  having  no  other 
consolation  tlian  that  of  dying  under  the  Spanish  flag,  which, 
dirty  and  in  rags,  was  fluttering  in  the  breeze  from  the  bell- 
tower  of  the  church. 


Under  the  Red  axd   Gold.  51 

Xone  of  them  were  buried  with  ecclesiastical  ceremonies, 
but  to  none  was  wanting'  the  merit  of  patient  suffering.  ISTeither 
the  temple  nor  the  men  were  clothed  in  black  for  the  departed; 
but  even  yet  my  soul  is  aflhcted  with  the  supreme  mourning 
which  oppressed  us  in  the  ceremonies,  without  ceremony,  of 
interment. 

The  gloomy  impression,  apart  from  the  natural  sadness, 
was  increased  by  the  thought,  which  we  could  not  shake  off, 
that  there,  in  these  same  graves  where  we  were  placing  the 
mortal  remains  of  our  companions,  we  might  ourselves,  one  by 
one,  soon  join  them  in  very  close  assembly. 

As  the  month  advanced  the  sufferings  of  Las  Morenas,  ag- 
gravated by  the  hardships  we  were  undergoing,  began  to  take 
on  an  alarining  gravity,  with  the  presence  and  complication  of 
beri-beri.  He  continued,  however,  to  authenticate  with  his  sig- 
nature the  replies  that  we  gave  to  the  messages  and  threats  of 
the  besiegers.  "It  diverts  me,''  he  said;  and,  respecting  his  de- 
sire, we  continued  to  receive  and  read  the  messages  and  to  an- 
swer them. 

Tiiat  this  proceeding  was  a  mistake,  seeing  that  it  was  our 
resolve  not  to  surrender,  was  each  time  more  evident,  because 
of  the  evil  effect  that  it  produced  on  the  troops,  and  because 
the  enemy  could  not  fail  to  observe  the  sore  plight  we  were  in. 

Precaution  could  avail  little  to  prevent  this  last,  and  yet 
it  was  important  to  avoid  it.  We  had  already  determined  that 
we  would  not  go  out  to  the  trenches  to  receive  papers  or  deliver 
replies  unless  dressed  in  the  little  best  that  we  had.  Our  bod- 
ies testified  to  hunger,  but  it  was  not  glaringly  evident,  since 
our  emaciation  could  be  caused  by  the  close  confinement  in 
which  we  were  living.  They  could  not  actually  know  what  were 
our  casualties,  although  they  might  guess  them;  but  there  was 
some  difference  between  knowing  and  guessing. 


52  UXDER    THE    EeD    AXD     GOLD. 

When  the  death  of  Captain  Las  ^lorenas  became  inevitable 
and  imminent;  when  I  realized  tliat  very  soon  he  would  not  be 
able  to  write,  and  that  the  substitution  of  another  name  for  his 
would  probably  lead  to  grave  consequences:  wishing,  moreover, 
to  not  make  my  signature  known,  since  they  might,  joerchance, 
by  imitating  it,  give  it  out  that  we  had  surrendered* — I  sought 
to  find  a  pretext  that  would  put  an  end  to  every  kind  of  par- 
leys and  messages. 

This  was,  in  fact,  the  object  of  the  message  we  directed 
to  the  hisurrectos  on  the  20th  of  XovemVier,  and  which  was  the 
last  one  signed  by  the  almost  dying  Captain.  Feigning  in  tliis 
letter  the  greatest  generosity  and  clemency,  and  imitating  to  a 
certain  extent  a  vulgar  scene  from  the  Italian  farce,  we  offered 
them  complete  amnesty  of  their  rebellion  and  lawle>s  acts.  '"In 
order  to  make  it  clear  to  you  once  more,'"  we  said,  "that  the 
Spaniards  are  actuated  by  philanthropic  sentiments,  if  you  will 
abandon  your  attitude  and  lay  down  your  arms,  everything  will 
remain  in  oblivion  and  the  inhabitants  will  be  allowed  to  return 
to  the  town  at  once." 


*And  I  was  not  mistaken.  Afterwards  I  learned  that  in  Decem- 
ber, 1898,  an  expedition  was  fitted  out  in  Manila  for  the  purpose  of 
relieving  us.  It  was  all  ready  prepared  to  set  out  when  the  arri- 
val of  Corporal  Alfonso  Sus  Fojas,  Medical  Corps,  prevented  its 
departure. 

This  miserable  deserter  had  the  effrontery  to  go  in  and  claim 
his  pay,  declaring  that  we  had  surrendered  some  time  before, 
naming  the  place  to  which  wo  had  been  taken,  stating  that  we  were 
all  cared  for,  and  giving  m.any  details  that  gave  credit  to  his  in- 
ventive faculty.  Naturally,  he  did  not  say  that  he  had  deserted  to  the 
enemy,  abandoning  us  .June  2Sth,  taking  with  him  the  hospital  man 
under  his  orders,  and  I  do  not  know  how  he  explained  his  being  at 
liberty;  but  It  is  a  fact  that  his  story  was  believed — and  the  column 
did  not  depart. 

Some  days  later  it  became  known  that  we  Avere  still  defending 
ourselves;  the  man  was  sought  for  in  vain,  the  Baid  Fojas  did  not 
appear,  but  the  sending  of  help  remained  in  the  air. 

Even  this  did  not  prevent  credit  being  given  afterwards  to 
another  of  our  deserters,  JosC^  Alcaide  Bayona,  who  even  went  so 
far  as  to  accuse  us  of  assassination  and  mutiny. 


Under  the  Red  and  Gold.  53 

This  message  was,  I  repeat,  neither  the  fantastic  preten- 
sions of  vain  boasting,  nor  an  exalted  flight  of  the  imagination; 
much  less,  as  the  facts  have  shown,  an  attempt  to  get  an  oppor- 
tunity to  reply  to  them :  "If  you  will  not  surrender  to  us,  we, 
more  generous,  will  surrender  to  you."  It  was  written  solely 
and  simply  for  the  purpose  of  receiving  the  answer  they  sent  us. 

They  had  taken  us  in  earnest,  and  their  reply  was  a  litany 
of  insults  which  need  not  be  reproduced  in  these  pages.  It  was 
natural  for  them  to  give  vent  to  their  spleen.  "Las  Morenas," 
they  said  finally,  "what  inhabitants  are  left  to  return  to  the 
town?  Do  you  wish  the  Igorrotes  to  come  to  occupy  it?  Why 
this  pardon  and  amnesty?  There  is  nothing  for  you  to  do  but 
to  surrender."  These  people  did  not  realize  when  they  wrote 
those  lines  that  they  were  a  sad  statement  of  the  condition  of 
the  unfortunate  Las  Morenas  and  of  the  critical  pass  we  had 
come  to. 

The  poor  Captain  was  leaving  us  fast,  a  victim,  as  were 
the  others,  of  beri-beri.  His  agony  was  horrible;  he  had  not 
lost  consciousness  completely;  he  was  still  conscious  of  the  fact 
that  he  was  in  a  siege;  constantly,  which  increased  his  anguish, 
he  thought  he  was  with  his  own  people,  but  with  the  enemy  in 
sight.  Once  he  began  to  cry  out,  trembling  and  frightened, 
"Little  Henry!  Little  Henry!"  (one  of  his  sons),  and,  turning 
to  me  sobbing,  "Order  them  to  go  back  and  look  for  the  child. 
Quickly !     The  Insurrectos  are  going  to  take  him." 

He  died  on  the  22d,  during  the  afternoon.  He  had  a  good 
heart,  too  simple  perhaps;  and  the  Country  has  been  just  to 
him.  His  memory  will  never  be  blotted  from  mine.  God  keep 
him  in  peace. 

As  there  was  now  no  other  lieutenant  left,  I  had  immedi- 
ately and  officially  to  assume  the  command,  with  all  its  inci- 
dents and  dangers.    For  some  days  the  command  had  practically 


54  Under  the  Eed  and   Gold. 

been  mine,  but  now  the  circumstances  could  not  but  be  aggra- 
vated and  the  difficulties  seriously  increased  by  our  recent  loss. 
I  well  knew  what  was  expected  of  me  in  the  future,  if  I  grew 
not  disheartened  on  the  way,  which  was  yet  very  long  and 
thorny.  But  I  was  still  in  good  healtJi,  and  I  did  not  falter 
in  my  determination  for  a  single  instant. 

It  w^as  now  the  one  hundred  and  forty-fifth  day  of  the 
siege.  There  remained  under  my  command  tbirty-five  privates, 
a  trumpeter,  and  three  corporals,  almost  all  of  them  ill.  To 
care  for  these  sick  men,  I  had  only  one  doctor  and  one  Hospital 
Corps  man.  To  feed  them,  I  had  a  few  sacks  of  flour,  all  fer- 
mented and  forming  a  tongh  mass,  and  a  few  other  sacks  that 
had  contained  chick  peas,  but  now  had  nothing  in  them  but 
dust  and  weevil;  not  a  scrap  of  l)eef,  that  from  Australia  hav- 
ing been  used  up  during  the  first  week  in  July;  a  few  pieces 
of  bacon,  swarming  with  maggots  and,  moreover,  repugnant  to 
the  taste;  a  very  little  very  bad  cofi^ee;  of  wine,  which  had  Ijoen 
finished  in  August,  only  the  casks;  of  beans,  a  very  few,  and 
bad;  plenty  of  sugar,  but  not  a  grain  of  salt  (which  we  could, 
however,  have  easily  had  while  we  were  yet  trading  with  the 
people  of  the  town),  which  we  had  been  in  want  of  ever  since 
we  shut  ourselves  up  in  the  church;  and  some  tins  of  badly 
damaged  sardines. 

This  was  all  very  little,  considering  the  progress  of  the 
epidemic,  the  fatigues  of  the  siege,  and  the  remoteness  of  any 
possible  relief.  But  we  still  had  enotigh  ammunition,  a  flag  to 
defend  while  there  was  a  cartridge  left,  and  a  sacred  depos- 
itory, that  of  the  remains  of  our  dead  comrades,  to  guard 
against  profanation  by  the  enemy.  It  was  possible  for  us  to 
resist,  and  we  resisted. 


Under  the  Red  and   Gold.  55 


SECOND   PERIOD. 

■From  November  23,  1898,  to  June  2,  1899. 

I. 

FROM   NOVEMBER    23d    TO    DECEMBER    13th. 
No  PARLEYS. — Daily  merry-makings. — Cha:mizo  Lucas. — Fi- 
esta OF  the  patron  saint. — Nocturnal  grazings. — Fir- 
ing  AND    stone-throwing. — ^PRECAUTIONS. — ThE    DOCTOR 
ill,  —  FOF   SOMETHING   GREEN.  —  PRELUDE   TO   THE   OTHER 

WORLD. — Precautions. 

On  the  23d  the  enemy  again  sought  a  parley.     Not  wishing 

to  receive  it,  I  ordered  the  "retreat"  to  be  sounded;  but,  in 
case  they  might  not  understand  this  answer,  or  did  not  wish  to 
understand  it,  I  went  up  into  the  choir  to  warn  the  sentinels 
not  to  fire  in  case  anyone  should  present  himself. 

It  was  not  long  before  a  native  appeared  with  a  white  flag 
in  one  hand  and  a  message  in  the  other.  I  cried  out  to  him  from 
above  to  go  away,  that  we  would  not  receive  any  more  messages ; 
and  my  words  frightened  him  so  much  that  he  darted  away, 
throwing  himself  head  first  into  the  trencli  and  pitching  the 
rejected  letter  and  the  despised  white  flag  in  ahead  of  him. 

I  continued  to  refuse  to  receive  flags  of  truce.  But  since 
this  might  cause  the  enemy  to  suspect  that  it  was  due  to  the 
discouragement  of  the  soldiers,  and  as  these  same  communica- 
tions, dangerous  as  they  might  be,  often  brought  us  something 
from  the  outside,  and  always  something  new,  w'hich  relieved 
the  tedium  that  was  oppressing  and  consuming  us,  I  thought 
to  deceive  the  enemy  and  at  the  same  time  to  raise  our  spirits 
and  divert  our  minds  by  devoting  some  portion  of  the  time  to 
merry-makings,    which,   although    forced,   might   cover   up   the 


56  Under  the  Eed  and   Gold. 

real  situation  to  those  both  within  and  without  the  church, 
and  also  enliven  our  minds  and  hide  our  anguish. 

These  so-called  merry-makings  consisted  of  hand-clappings, 
merry  cries,  and  snatches  of  song,  which  angered  the  enemy  and 
made  him  cry  out,  "^'Sing  away!  you  will  soon  have  to  weep"; 
and  which  kindled  in  us  the  recollection  of  other  and  happy 
days,  and  of  that  Country  to  which  perhaps  we  would  never 
return. 

Eecolleetions  so  bitter !  Comedy  !  pure  comedy  !  in  which 
we  forced  ourselves  to  be  actors  in  spite  of  our  wills,  which  op- 
posed it.  Painful  recollections  I  but  which,  nevertheless,  truly 
strengthened  ^^s. 

In  order  to  celebrate  those  merry-makings,  those  masks  of 
laughter  with  which  we  tried  to  cover  our  faces,  corroded  al- 
ready as  with  cancer,  I  ordered  out  into  the  corral  every  after- 
noon all  persons  not  on  duty,  whether  sick  or  well,  as  long  as 
they  could  move  their  hands,  sing  a  verse,  or  contribute  in  any 
way  to  the  hilarity. 

As  already  said,  this  maddened  the  enem}',  who  exhausted 
his  rejDertory  of  insults  and  threats,  and  tried  to  reduce  us  to 
silence  by  redoubling  his  fire.  But  he  only  succeeded  in  stim- 
ulating us,  for  the  simple  reason  that  all  his  vociferation  and 
firing  acted  on  us  as  a  sort  of  provocation,  a  sort  of  stimulant, 
like  the  excitement  that  warms  one  up,  in  a  contest  of  skill. 

Meanwhile  the  completion  of  tlie  enemy's  trenches  and  the 
advantage  gained  by  him  in  fortifying  some  houses  near  the 
church  were  putting  us  in  serious  pliglit,  especially  on  the  west- 
ern side,  wliero  some  of  the  houses  just  referred  to  were  not 
more  than  forty  paces  away. 

We  were  running  out  of  wood  also;  and,  although  it  was 
close  at  hand,  since  only  the  walls  of  the  corral  separated  us 
from  the  place  where  it  had  fallen  when  we  tore  down  the 
walls  of  the  convent,  we  could  not  go  out  to  gather  it. 


Under  the  Eed  and   Gold.  57 

The  need  of  wood  and  the  advantage  gained  by  the  enemy, 
as  just  explained,  urgently  demanded  the  adoption  of  some 
measure  of  relief.  To  conceive  it  was  easy,  the  destruction  of 
those  houses  would  afford  it.  But  is  was  a  dangerous  under- 
taking. A  private  soldier  whose  name  deserves  a  high  place, 
Juan  Chamizo  Lucas,  conquered  this  dil^culty  by  his  heroism. 

Taking  advantage  of  one  of  those  rare  moments  of  truce 
or  lassitude,  when  the  enemy  appeared  to  be  careless,  that  brave 
boy  cautiously  stole  out,  and  with  incredible  coolness  and  delib- 
eration set  fire  to  the  houses  tlirough  the  very  loopholes  from 
which  projected  tlie  enemy's   rifles. 

Before  he  went  out,  I  took  the  precaution  to  post  the  most 
skillful  marksmen  that  could  be  spared,  so  as  to  cover  all  the 
western  front,  in  case  tlie  enemy  should  try  to  capture  him  or 
to  mutilate  his  body  in  the  very  probaljle  event  of  misfortune 
overtaking  him.  But,  fortunately,  wlien  they  discovered  that 
the  houses  were  burning,  Chamizo  had  already  returned  and 
was  covered  by  the  trench  of  the  sacristy,  and  it  was  necessary 
to  oppose  them  only  to  keep  them  from  putting  out  the  fire. 

They  were  unable  to  prevent  the  spread  of  the  fire,  which, 
reaching  other  houses,  completely  destroyed  that  of  Hernandez. 
The  latter  was  the  same  house  that  we  pretended  we  were  go- 
ing to  make  use  of  on  tbe  night  of  the  assault,  and  was  one  of 
those  they  had  fortified  and  in  which  they  had  placed  some 
cannon.  "With  these  guns  they  had  easily  been  able  to  ruin  the 
sacristy,  which  was  built  entirely  of  wood. 

Owing  to  this  exploit,  we  succeeded  in  weakening  that 
part  of  the  attack  where  Xature  itself  appeared  eager  to  guard 
us  from  the  enemy's  vigilance.  There  was  no  moving  about 
in  the  space  lying  between  the  church  and  the  enemy's  line  of 
trenches.  The  whole  was  a  thicket  of  banana  plants  and  other 
trees,  jalaps,  gourd  vines,  and  other  plants  of  paradisiacal  ex- 


58  Under  the   Eed   and   Gold. 

uberance  and  foliage.  That  marvelous  soil,  made  fruitful  by 
the  continuous  rains  of  the  season  through  which  we  were  pass- 
ing, had  gone  on  raising  up  before  our  eyes  a  beautiful  picture 
on  a  delicate  carpet  of  appetizing  small  herbs. 

I  say  "appetizing"  because  we  so  fared  with  the  provisions 
we  had,  and  they  were  so  repugnant  to  us,  that  those  plants, 
offering  themselves  so  near  at  hand,  shining  fruits  and  varied 
flowers,  the  herl)s  with  their  adornment  of  dew,  their  abundance 
of  oxygen,  and  the  freshness  with  which  they  appeared  to  be 
saturated,  presented  themselves  in  our  present  necessity  with 
all  the  seduction  of  a  most  coveted  dainty. 

This  boscage  was  very  abundant  in  the  belt  of  the  burned 
fortified  houses  and  on  the  north  side  of  the  church;  but,  al- 
though the  growth  was  some\\hat  close  and  sufficient  to  conceal 
a  man,  it  was  not  desirable  to  authorize  the  soldiers  to  gather 
any  of  it.  And  this  because  not  only  of  the  enemy's  fire,  but 
also  to  guard  against  happenings  of  another  kind.  Only  Vigil 
and  I,  secretly  because  it  apiu^ared  a  shame  to  thus  gratify  our 
own  wants,  occasionally  slipped  through  the  opening  in  the 
door,  silently  and  furtively  stole  out  of  the  trench,  and — ate 
grass ! 

This  l)anquet  of  ruminants  might  have  been  of  heavy  cost 
to  us:  l)ecause,  such  was  the  readiness  of  the  enemy  that,  hav- 
ing at  last  discovered  us,  they  sent  after  us  a  charge  of  canister 
that,  if  it  had  not  been  for  their  stupidity,  would  have  ])ut  an 
end  to  our  digestion.  The  fact  that  the  rammer  stu'-k  in  the 
tower  of  the  church  indicates  how  precipitate  they  were  in 
firing. 

On  tbe  8th  of  December  we  had  another  death  from  beri- 
heri,  that  of  Private  Eafael  Alonso  ]\Iedero.  Xevertheless,  as 
it  was  the  day  so  generally  observed  by  the  Spanish  Infantry, 
and  as  it  was  desirable  to  dissipate  the  evil  effect  of  the  new 


UxDER  THE   Red  axd   Gold.  59 

loss,  I  ordered  pancakes  and  coffee  made  for  the  troops,  giving, 
besides,  a  tin  of  sardines  to  each  man.  Tliis  modest  repast 
was  of  mnch  value.  I  have  already  descril:)ed  the  bad  state  of 
the  rations,  but  anything  that  interrupted  the  daily  monotony 
with  an  appearance  of  novelty  and  alleviation  comforted  our 
souls.  Hence,  even  though  the  huhuelos  (pancakes)  turned 
out  to  be  veritable  '^'BuTiuclos"  (nothings),  the  coffee  a  poor 
substitute  for  wine,  and  each  tin  of  sardines  a  mere  serviceable 
trifle,  everything  was  taken  as  extraordinarily  tempting,  as  ev- 
erything in  this  world  is  relative;  and  the  garrison  of  Baler 
worthily  celebrated  the  festival  of  its  Immaculate  Patroness 
in  a  religious  way,  by  the  sepulture  of  the  dead  comrade  and 
prayers  for  the  repose  of  his  soul;  in  a  secular  Avay,  by  the 
simulacrum  of  a  banquet;  and  in  a  military  way,  by  a  stolid 
resignation  to  everything. 

In  the  Insurrecto  camp  they  must  have,  evidently,  been 
devising,  not  a  serious,  open,  and  determined  attack,  which 
would  undoubtedly  have  annihilated  us,  but  a  plan  whereby, 
while  they  sailed  to  the  windward  of  the  danger  of  a  frontal 
attack,  we  should  be  brought  to  terms  by  means  of  intuuidation 
and  discouragement.  Hence  the  noise  with  which  they  then 
began  to  accompany  their  attacks.  The  noise  of  their  cannon, 
which  was  already  loud  enough,  not  being  enough  for  them, 
they  adopted  the  plan  of  accompanying  it  with  terrific  howls 
and  showers  of  stones,  which,  falling  on  the  roof,  covered  with 
zinc  and  not  very  firm,  deafened  us  with  their  hellish  pounding. 

The  shameful  thing  about  that  incessant  hammering,  that 
continual  dropping  of  artifices  and  tricks  and  insults  and  of- 
ferings and  promises,  was  the  conspicuous  part  that  our  in- 
famous deserters  took  in  it  all.  There  was  no  yelling  in  which 
the  voices  of  those  wretches  did  not  stand  out;  no  enterprise 
in  which,  before  our  very  eyes,  they  were  not  eager  to  display 


60  Under   the   Eed   and   Gold. 

their  villainy,  trying  to  gain  merit,  to  gain  reward  and  the  con- 
sideration of  the  enemy,  which,  apparently,  was  not  showered 
upon  til  cm. 

V\'e  would  ha\e  preferred  the  open  assault,  with  all  its 
dangerous  chances,  because  we  were  anxious  to  "make  a  kill- 
ing,"' to  satiate  our  anger,  our  wrath,  which  was  perforce  re- 
pressed day  after  day,  without  relief  other  than  by  a  desultory 
fire,  v\'iiich  was  not  always  without  result,  but  was  of  no  per- 
ceptible efficacy.  x\lthougli  the  effect  of  our  fire  was  concealed 
by  the  undergrowth  and  by  the  trenches,  yet  we  knew  by  the 
quickness  of  the  response  that  we  had  made  good;  but  we  were 
in  such  a  state  of  desperation  from  our  imprisonment,  and  from 
continual  wori-y  and  vexation^  that  we  should  have  liked  to  see 
the  effect,  the  casualties  caused  by  our  bullets,  more  closely,  as 
we  saw  our  friends  dying  and  heard  their  lamentations  and 
anguish. 

To  this  end  I  ordered  that  after  each  meal  the  troops 
should  ].)ost  themselves,  well  concealed,  at  the  loopholes,  and 
that  tlu^  mess  call  should  then  be  sounded.  Up  to  that  time  we 
had  not  used  the  trumpet  except  to  sound  the  "parley"  and  the 
"attack";  but,  although  they  might  consider  the  mess  call  as  a 
useless  formality,  it  seemed  to  me  that  it  might  also  occur  to 
them,  on  hearing  the  call,  that  they  would  be  able  to  effect  a 
surprise  while  we  were  occupied  with  the  duties  to  which  it 
summoned  us.  This  artifice  gave  me  no  result,  since  it  served 
them  more  as  a  caution,  and  we  did  not  get  the  satisfaction  we 
so  ardently  desired. 

I  have  already  described  the  manner  in  which  we  per- 
formed the  night  watch,  and  I  now  must  add  that  neither  did 
tlie  enemy  neglect  shnilar  precautions.  Instead  of  the  watch- 
word for  the  sentries,  a  whistle  was  used  and  repeated  by  one 
sentinel  after  the  other;  and,  as  it  was  very  brief,  we  could  not 
locate  it  for  a  shot. 


Under  the  Eed  and   Gold.  61 

Our  low  state,  the  failure  of  my  stratagem,  and  the  abso- 
lute necessity  of  rescuing  the  Detachment  from  the  terrible 
marasmus  into  which  I  saw  them  sinking,  induced  me  to  plan 
a  sail}',  which,  in  addition  to  animating  our  people,  would  allow 
us  to  gather  some  of  those  beautiful  pumpkins  hanging  so  near 
and  in  such  tantalizing  abundance.  But  I  deferred  my  plan, 
deciding  to  carry  it  out  and  have  the  pumpkins  on  Christ- 
mas Eve. 

My  object  was  to  set  fire  to  the  whole  town,  to  profit  by 
the  confusion  and  seize  the  fruits,  to  show  that  we  were  alive, 
and  to  get  up  a  hunting  party  after  Insurrectos. 

The  enterprise  having  been  determined  upon,  the  23d  of 
of  December  was  fixed  upon  as  the  day  for  carrying  it  out. 
But  I  had  to  anticipate  that  date.  The  fatal  epidemic,  con- 
tinuing to  spread,  attacked  the  Doctor,  who  was  now  prostrated 
and  awaiting  death  seated  in  a  chair,  in  order  to  care  for  his 
sick  until  the  last  moment.  On  the  13th  he  said  to  me :  "Mar- 
tin, I  am  dying;  I  am  very  ill.  If  someone  could  get  me  some- 
thing green,  perhaps  I  would  get  better,  and  so  would  these 
other  sick  men."  "You  know,"  I  replied,  "that  I  had  planned 
a  sally  for  the  day  before  Christmas  Eve;  but  since  we  cannot 
wait  until  then,  I  wish  to  say  that  I  shall  attempt  it  at  once." 

He  generously  tried  to  dissuade  me,  fearing  disaster  in 
our  eagerness.  But  I  saw  that  he  was  failing  steadily,  and,  in 
spite  of  his  strong  protests,  I  answered  that  there  was  nothing 
else  to  do  and  that  it  would  be  done,  come  what  would;  be- 
cause if  we  did  not  do  something,  the  epidemic  would  de- 
vour us. 

So  true  was  this,  so  certain  the  ravages  of  the  epidemic, 
that  the  soldiers  were  already  making  lists  which  they  called 
"expeditions  to  the  other  world."  In  these  they  placed,  first 
the  names  of  those  who  were  already  about  to  die,  then  those 


62  Under  the  Red  axd   Gold. 

less  seriously  ill,  and  so  on  in  this  order.  When  any  one 
reached  a  crisis,  his  comrades  would  say  to  him,  "It  is  your 
turn  to  be  buried  in  such  a  place,"  and  he  with  cool  and  mar- 
velous resignation  would  bequeath  five  pesos  to  those  who  would 
make  his  grave. 

It  was  frightful  to  hear  them,  there  in  the  gloomy  shades, 
half  clad  in  rags,  dirty,  hungry,  with  so  many  memories  of  the 
kind  that  moisten  the  eyes  with  the  tears  of  the  spirit,  and  yet 
with  so  much  of  greatness  in  their  prostration  and  wretchedness. 

Many  of  those  men  must  be  still  living,  ^^^lat  has  become 
of  them  ?  Perhaps  again  they  find  themselves  in  poverty  and 
rags,  with  their  strength  gone,  because  they  were  not  succored, 
and  do  not  have  in  their  misery  even  the  right  to  the  shelter 
of  some  asvlum ! 


Under  the  Eed  and   Gold,  63 


II. 

FEOM  THE  14TII  TO  THE  34tii  OF  DECEMBER. 

The  sally,  —  Gaining  Rooii,  —  Provisions.  — ■  Sowing   and 
REAPING.  —  Stopping  holes   and  avoiding  floods.  —  A 

I  tempest.  —  iS^EW   LINES   OF   TRENCHES.  — >  CHRISTMAS    EVE, 

The  sally  which  I  had  promised  Vigil,  come  what  would, 
and  at  once,  presented  its  troubles  and  difficulties  in  the  high- 
est degree  dangerous,  and  I  was  fully  alive  to  them.  My  peo- 
ple available  for  the  enterprise  did  not  amount  to  twenty  per- 
sons, the  enemy  being  out  of  all  proportion  more  numerous. 
Our  men  must  expose  themselves  openly,  while  the  enemy 
could  wait  for  them  under  the  cover  of  trenches.  My  men  were 
weak  and  torpid,  the  Insurrectos  in  the  best  of  condition.  It 
seemed  truly  a  piece  of  madness,  but  in  the  sacrifice  I  could 
see  a  ray  of  hope  made  certain  by  the  very  rashness  of  the 
undertaking. 

In  all  circumstances  of  life  surprise  is  of  immense  effect, 
the  effect  being  the  more  powerful  as  it  is  accompanied  by  the 
extraordinary  and  the  unexpected,  the  boldness  displayed.  To 
surprise  I  trusted  the  attainment  of  my  purposes,  and  to  it  I 
owed  their  complete  realization. 

On  the  day  following  my  conversation  with  the  Doctor, 
December  14th,  at  half  past  ten  or  eleven  in  the  morning,  a 
most  unusual  hour  for  such  an  enterprise,  I  called  Corporal 
Jose  Olivares  Conejeros,  a  man  of  great  courage  and  complete- 
ly in  my  confidence,  and  ordered  him  to  take  fourteen  of  the 
most  suitable  men;  to  go  out  with  them  secretly,  crawling  one 
by  one,  the  only  way  possible,  through  the  opening  that  led  in- 
to the  trench  of  the  sacristy;  and,  when  all  were  ready,  the 


64  Under   the   Eed   axd   Gold. 

bayonets  being  fixed  witliout  noise,  to  make  a  sudden  rush, 
deployed  as  skirmishers,  and  surround  the  house  that  was  on 
tlie  north  side  of  the  church. 

One  of  the  men,  carrying  long  pieces  of  bamboo  and  some 
rags  well  soaked  in  petroleum,  was  to  set  fire  to  the  house;  the 
others  to  fight  desperately  and  resolutely.  The  rest  of  the 
force,  which  I  posted  at  the  loopholes,  were  to  support  the  at- 
tack, to  increase  the  confusion  by  their  firing,  to  cause  as  many 
losses  as  possible,  and  to  prevent  the  joutting  out  of  the  fires. 

Everything  was  carried  out  as  planned,  and  with  results 
that  were  so  necessary  to  us.  I  tried  to  pick  off  the  sentry 
who  was  on  post  at  the  house  referred  to,  and  was  well  en- 
trenched; but  he  very  soon  saw  my  men  and  fled,  blind  with 
fear  and  spreading  consternation  among  his  own  people. 

Tlie  flames  themselves,  the  rapidity  with  which  they  spread 
through  tbe  town,  the  impetuosity  of  the  charge,  the  precision 
of  the  fire  which  we  poured  into  them  from  the  church  (al- 
though we  tried  to  avoid  the  useless  expenditure  of  ammuni- 
tion), and  the  irresistible  terror  that  was  communicated  from 
one  to  another,  promptly  decided  a  general  flight,  which  cleared 
the  field  in  less  time  than  it  takes  to  tell  the  story. 

Apart  from  the  surprise,  which  had  just  produced  one  of 
those  miracles  such  as  are  related  in  the  military  history  of  all 
time,  there  were  two  powerful  reasons,  two  fixed  notions,  latent 
in  the  Filipino  mind,  which  no  doubt  contributed  to  the  result : 
one  was  the  traditional  one  of  Spanish  superiority,  which  We 
had  just  demonstrated;  the  other  was  the  violence,  the  fury, 
with  which  they  must  have  considered  us  possessed. 

It  is  proper  to  note  M'hat  we  have  just  said;  because  it  may 
be  asserted  that  if,  in  other  places,  and  on  other  occasions,  care 
had  been  taken  to  encourage  these  notions,  care  not  to  foresee 
unfortunate    occurrences,    care    to    avoid   weakness,    to   proceed 


Under  the  Red   axd   Gold.  65 

with  energetic  resolution,  other  and  very  different  from  those 
we  now  have  to  lament  would  have  been  the  results  ol)tained. 

Those  people  had  formed  a  very  superior  conception  of 
the  Castila  (Spaniard) ;  and  this  conception,  of  which  we  ought 
never  to  have  been  careless,  would  have  been  worth  much  to  us. 
In  the  instance  of  which  I  am  S])eaking  it  decided  that  precip- 
itate flight,  which  did  not  stop  even  at  the  forest.  Think,  now, 
what  it  would  have  logically  meant  in  other  and  more  favor- 
able circumstances,  with  greater  forces  and  resources,  and  with 
objects  of  much  greater  moment  and  transcendency. 

On  account  of  the  great  confusion,  we  could  not  estimate 
the  enemy's  lo.-ses,  but  I  suppose  they  were  not  wanting.  I 
have  since  heard  that  one  of  their  leaders,  Gomez  Ortiz,  he  of 
the  time  of  the  suspension  of  hostilities,  was  killed.  One  of 
their  sentries,  stationed  on  the  south,  was  killed  and  remained 
where  he  fell,  abandoned  by  his  friends.  The  flames  of  the  fire, 
passing  over  him,  destroyed  his  I'ody  in  a  short  time. 

The  town  was  destroyed,  except  a  few  of  the  more  distant 
houses,  which  we  left  standing,  so  that  in  case  any  troops 
should  come  to  relieve  us,  the  necessary  lodgings  for  them 
would  not  be  wanting. 

We  proceeded  at  once  to  destroy  the  trenches  that  sur- 
rounded us  so  near  at  hand;  and,  as  the  fire  had  razed  the  forti- 
fied houses  which  served  as  flanks  and  points  of  support,  we 
soon  cleared  a  regular  military  zone  of  sufficient  width  to  allow 
us  to  open  the  doors  in  the  south  face  of  the  church,  which 
had  been  closed  since  the  beginning  of  the  siege. 

A  fringe  of  woods  had  intervened  to  shut  us  off  from  view 
and  command  of  the  inlet,  or  river,  which  cut  the  road  to  the 
beach.  This  way  was  of  great  use  to  the  enemy,  who  at  all 
hours  were  ascending  and  descending  the  stream,  bringing  food 
and  reinforcements. 


66  UxDER  THE   Eed   axd   Gold, 

It  was  necessary  to  make  such  traffic  difficult  at  least ; 
and  to  this  end  we  cut  a  clearing  which  opened  the  river  to  our 
view  and,  while  it  did  not  hinder  the  traffic  completely,  yet  sub- 
jected it  to  risks  from  our  fire. 

To  tliis  advantageotis  expansion,  which,  aside  from  Letter- 
ing our  local  condition,  afforded  us  freedom  for  offensive  re- 
turns, we  had  the  satisfaction  of  adding  a  good  supply  of 
pumpkins,  pumpkin  leaves,  and  all  the  savory  fruit  of  the 
oi'ange  trees  in  the  plaza — whatever  might  be,  or  appeared  to 
tis  to  be.  edible.  Xeither  did  we  overlook  the  boards  and  beams 
that  we  could  carry  to  the  church,  in  which  we  also  stirred  the 
ladder  that  had  been  left  behind  the  night  of  the  assault  and 
tl)e  iron  material  that  could  be  picked  ui)  amono-  the  rnius  of 
tlie  Coinandancla.  This  building  having  been  of  wood,  we  found 
a  goodly  supply  of  spikes,  some  of  them  a  half-iueter  long, 
wli'ch  were  afterwards  of  much  tise  to  us,  and  wliich.  had  tlicy 
hi\-ii  left  to  the  enemy,  would  have  served  him  for  charging 
his  cannon. 

If  to  all  this  it  Ije  added  that  we  did  not  have  even  one 
man  wounded,  I  do  not  think  it  an  exaggeration  to  regard  that 
rasli,  mad  enterprise  as  a  fruitful  and  victorious  feat  of  arms. 
The  importance  of  it  should  be  measured  by  the  evils  it  rem- 
edied. A  mine  of  diamonds  is  not  worth  as  much  to  a  ship- 
wrecked and  famished  man  as  a  small  concavity  that  offers 
him  a  sup])ly  of  water.  All  the  trophies  that  an  army  might 
conquer  could  not  be  compared  with  the  significance  to  us  of 
tliat  terrified  enemy;  that  burned  town;  the  felling  of  tliat 
wood  which  had  prevented  our  vigilance  over  the  river;  tlse 
poor  leaves  and  wild  fruits  which  we  would  have  scorned  at 
other  times  and  now  so  eagerly  gathered;  the  spikes  and  boards; 
the  leveled  trenches;  the  cleared  field;  and,  above  all,  those 
doors  in  the  south  face  of  the  church  opened  to  the  air  after 


UxDER   THE   Eed   axd   Gold.  67 

having  been  closed  for  five  and  a  lialE  mouths^  gi^'iiig  entrance 
to  the  ventilation  that  healed  and  escape  for  the  miasms  that 
destroyed. 

Yes,  that  memorable  sally^  in  which  all  who  could  stand 
performed  prodigies  of  valor,  was,  for  the  Detachment  of  Baler, 
like  a  breath  of  oxygen  to  one  that  is  being  asphyxiated. 

With  the  airing  of  the  church,  the  new  eatables  so  fresh 
and  green,  as  the  Doctor  had  craved  them,  and  the  hope  Avhicli 
our  success  could  not  fail  to  inspire,  it  was  soon  apparent  that 
the  epidemic  was  abating. 

The  vigilant  enemy  being  farther  away,  it  was  now  pos- 
sible, when  tbe  firing  was  not  too  severe,  to  allow  two  men  to 
go  out  daily  and  bring  in  sackful s  of  pumpkin  leaves,  plantain 
shoots,  and  various  herbs;  with  whicb  was  increased  and  im- 
proved the  already  scanty  ration  that  we  could  deal  out  from 
our  provisions.  Foreseeing  that  if  tbe  siege  should  become 
formal  again,  it  would  not  l)e  possible  to  secure  this  store,  I 
arranged  to  provide  a  supply  more  nearly  at  hand.  Finally, 
taking  advantage  of  the  time  given  me  by  the  stupefaction  of 
the  enemy,  I  succeeded  in  clearing  the  corral  of  all  the  filth  it 
contained. 

This  last  was  extremely  important.  The  refuse,  sweep- 
ings, and  fecal  matter  had  tbere  formed  such  a  mass  of  foul 
slime  that  its  stench  was  unbearable.  I  therefore  ordered  a  pit 
to  be  dug  four  or  five  meters  outside  of  the  wall,  and,  by  means 
of  a  sloping  ditch,  we  drained  into  it  all  of  the  pestilent  mat- 
ter. We  thus  obtained  in  a  short  time,  with  the  help  of  the 
rains,  an  easy  conduit  for  the  preservation  of  cleanliness,  and 
an  insulated  depository  capacious  enough  and  at  a  sufficient 
distance  to  take  away  all  fear  of  danger  from  it. 

The  question  of  edible  vegetables  made  it  necessary  for  us 
to  utilize  as  a  garden  all  the  available  ground,  having  in  view 


68  TJxDER  THE  Red   axd   Gold. 

the  possibility  of  gathering  them  even  though  we  should  again 
be  hemmed  in  closely.  For  this  purpose  we  worked  a  small 
piece  next  to  the  entrance  to  our  trench,  and  in  it  we  planted 
peppers  and  wild  tomatoes,  which  are  abundant  in  those  coun- 
tries. The  trench  itself  and  its  ditches  were  covered  with 
pumpkin  vines,  which  in  a  short  time  gave  them  the  appear- 
ance of  a  green  field. 

All  bore  promptly;  but  the  pumpkins,  much  deteriorated, 
were  no  bigger  than  hen's  eggs,  partly  due  also  to  the  thick- 
ness of  the  sowing.  "We  had  to  pull  them  up  when  they  had 
reached  this  stage,  because  otherwise  they  would  fall  of  them- 
selves and  it  would  not  be  possible  to  eat  them. 

I  believe  that  I  have  pointed  out  that  the  church  was  sol- 
idly built,  except  the  annex  designed  as  a  sacristy.  Its  Avails 
were  thick  and  strong,  of  a  kind  of  cement,  and  with  heavy 
foundations.  So  thick  were  they  that  I  had  placed  along  the 
top,  at  intervals,  rows  of  boxes  filled  with  earth,  liehind  which 
there  was  still  left  a  space  half  a  meter  in  width.  These  served 
as  an  excellent  parapet  for  our  firing  and  for  our  watching. 
Of  course,  it  may  be  said  in  passing,  the  famous  ladder  of  the 
assault  was  of  good  service  to  us  in  defending  that  parapet  and 
relieving  its  sentries. 

But  if  the  walls  were  not  wanting  in  strength,  if  they  were 
firm  and  thick,  it  was  not  so  with  the  roof.  It  was  covered  with 
zinc,  forming  two  slopes  as  in  ordinary  roof-coverings,  Ijut  not 
very  well  supported  in  the  cornice,  as  is  tiie  case  with  all  coverings 
when  the  drainage  is  in  the  support  itself.  "When  the  liesieg- 
ers  saw  the  risks  and  difficulties  another  attempt  at  assault 
would  present,  they  preferred  to  forego  it.  But,  seeking  some 
efficacious  means  to  bring  about  our  surrender,  they  resolved, 
apparently,  to  expose  us  to  the  weather,  to  leave  us  without  a 
roof;  being  confident  that  the  continual  rain  would  soon  spoil 


Under  the  Eed   and   Gold.  69 

the  few  (or  many)  rations  that  we  had  stored,  would  cover  the 
floor  with  water,  would  deprive  us  of  rest,  and  would  render 
the  continuation  of  the  defense  impossible. 

To  this  end,  they  not  only  continued  to  throw  showers  of 
stones,  which,  as  I  have  said,  fell  upon  it  like  hailstorms,  but 
they  fired  volleys  against  our  poor  roof,  which  soon  rendered 
it  little  better  than  a  sieve.  Through  the  numerous  holes  we 
could  see  the  firmament  as  through  lattice-work,  the  aspect  of 
which,  on  a  clear  night,  recalled  that  of  the  starry  heavens. 
But  the  service  of  the  roof  when  it  rained  was  more  to  be  feared 
than  desired;  because  the  water,  besides  passing  freely  through 
the  many  holes,  also  poured  down  against  the  uncovered  cor- 
nices, where  it  was  retained,  rotting  them  so  that  they  threat- 
ened to  fall  and  crush  us. 

To  provide  against  this  danger,  a  great  effort  was  neces- 
sary. To  nail  the  cornices,  using  the  large  spikes  of  which  I 
have  spoken,  was  an  undertaking  not  at  all  easy,  on  account 
of  the  dangerous  conditions  under  which  it  had  to  be  done  and 
the  insufficiency  of  the  materials  employed. 

Then  the  wooden  quizame  (false  work),  which,  under  the 
roof  covering  and  supported  against  the  inner  border  of  the 
cornices,  formed  an  imitation  of  a  vaulted  ceiling,  had  to  be 
fastened  securely  to  the  roof-beams. 

AYe  attempted  also  to  stop  up,  one  by  one,  the  numerous 
holes  in  the  roof  zinc.  For  this  we  improvised  a  sort  of  paste 
made  of  flour  and  plaster,  which  stopped  the  holes  quickly 
enough;  but  the  rains  were  always  followed  by  stifling  heat, 
which  withered  everything;  they  became  loose  and  our  labor 
was  lost. 

Then  we  tried  to  stop  the  holes  with  pieces  of  tin,  which 
we  so  placed  as  to  form  channels  to  carry  off  the  water.  This 
gave  us  better  results,  because  the  remedy  was  at  least  more 


70  UxDER  THE   Red   x\nd   Gold. 

lasting;  but  when  the  rain  was  very  heavy,  there  was  no  place 
where  we  could  all  take  refuge,  and  each  one  had  to  look  out 
for  himself  as  God  gave  him  understanding.  I  slieltered  my 
bed  under  a  covering  that  appeared  to  be  a  wagon-awning,  and 
the  others  contrived  for  themselves  as  l)est  they  could. 

But  nothing  availed  us  on  a  certain  night.  A  frightful 
tempest,  common  to  those  climes,  in  which  the  earth  trembles 
while  the  elements  rage  witli  fury;  a  veritable  deluge,  which 
came  down  as  if  threatening  the  end  of  the  world — completely 
inundated  us.  Xine  or  ten  meters  of  that  cornice  which  had 
cost  us  so  much  labor  to  secure  with  spikes  fell  to  the  ground. 
It  was  truly  a  miracle  tliat  no  one  was  killed.  Satisfied  with 
this  escape,  tliere  was  nothing  for  us  to  do  l3ut  to  possess  our- 
selves in  patience,  and  on  tlic  following  day  to  commence  the 
repairs  again. 

The  enemy  meanwhile  had  returned  to  the  siege.  The 
part  of  the  town  we  had  not  ])urned  served  as  supports  to  the 
trenches  with  which  they  again  surrounded  us.  But  this  line 
was  much  farther  away  than  the  first  one,  and,  for  want  of  the 
former  shelters,  was  more  exposed.  In  order  to  protect  them- 
selves, the  enemy  had  to  construct  head-coverings,  and  in  the 
bottom  of  the  trenches  a  sort  of  platform,  because  they  were 
flooded,  at  times  in  consequence  of  the  rains,  and  at  others  by 
the  tides,  which  ebbed  and  flowed  daily  in  the  various  branches 
of  the  river. 

All  this  increased  the  discomforts  of  the  besieger,  and  with 
them  his  eagerness  for  our  surrender,  which  was  noticeable  in 
the  ceaseless  hostilities  by  which  he  tried  to  annoy  us.  What 
a  quantity  of  ammunition  he  expended  uselessly  in  spite  of 
Villacorta's  announcement ! 

On  our  part,  we  sought  to  avoid  carelessness,  to  constantly 
lie  in  wait  for  the  enemy,  and  not  to  fire  except  when  we  con- 
sidered it  necessary. 


Under  the  Red   akd   Gold.  71 

Christmas  Eve  came,  that  festival  of  intimacy  which  evokes 
so  many  memories  at  all  Christian  firesides;  and  we  prepared 
to  celebrate  it  noisily. 

I  ordered  that  the  troops  be  served  an  extra  allowance  of 
pumpkin,  some  preserve  made  of  the  orange  skins,  and  coffee. 
We  had  found  in  the  church  a  number  of  musical  instruments 
belonging  to  the  town  band,  and  I  ordered  them  distributed  to 
all  the  men  off  duty;  to  one  a  flute,  to  another  the  bass  drum, 
to  others  the  snare  drum,  clarinets,  etc.,  and  to  the  rest,  be- 
cause we  did  not  have  enough  to  go  around,  petroleum  tins. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  try  to  describt;  the  noise  we  made 
that  night. 

They  also  made  themselves  hoarse  in  the  enemy's  trenches 
by  shouting  at  us  all  kinds  of  vituperation,  saying  that  it  would 
soon  be  over  and  then  would  come  the  tears,  that  there  we  had 
to  die;  while  we,  redoubling  the  noisy  discord,  tried  to  drive 
away  the  sadness  in  our  souls  by  thinking  that  we  were  still 
able  to  infuriate  the  enemy,  that  we  still  had  cartridges  left  for 
our  defense,  and  that  there  still  waved  over  the  tower,  in  spite 
of  tempests  and  rains,  the  banner  of  our  unfortunate  Country. 


72  Under  the  Eed  and   Gold. 

III. 
FROM  DECEMBEE  25,  1898,  TO  FEBEUARY,  1899. 

Ax    episode. — A    PARLEY. — LETTERS. — A^'AIX    HOPES. — THE    OLD 
YEAR    AND   THE    NEW.  —  PaLAY.  —  CaPT.UN    OlMEDO. — An 

INTERVIEW. — Informalities. — Reason  eor  our  doubt. 

During  one  of  the  last  days  of  December  there  occurred  a 
small  incident,  a  simple  episode,  which,  of  no  importance  in 
itself,  induced  me,  so  to  speak,  to  renew  the  flag  of  truce.  I 
have  not  been  able  to  explain  to  myself  the  logic  of  it;  but  the 
fact  is  that  the  one  was  derived  immediately  from  the  other, 
and  it  may  well  be  that  the  renewal  was  a  yielding  to  the  curi- 
osity excited  by  the  trifling  episode. 

Along  in  the  middle  of  the  afternoon  we  saw  running 
through  the  enemy's  trenches,  jumping  and  screaming,  a  boy, 
apparently  about  twelve  years  old.  "Do  you  wish  me  to  kill 
him,  my  Lieutenant?"  said  the  sentinel  to  me.  "Xo,"  I  re- 
plied; "call  to  him  to  see  if  he  wishes  anything  of  us."  The 
soldier  did  so,  but  the  boy  paid  no  attention  to  him;  and,  with- 
out ceasing  his  cries  or  stopping  as  he  leaped  along,  he  disap- 
peared through  the  woods. 

On  the  following  day  one  of  the  party  stationed  in  the 
town  sounded  the  call  for  a  parley.  We  had  learned  only  by 
hearing  to  know  the  enemy's  trumpeters  apart.  This  was  one 
of  those  that  sounded  the  poorest  calls,  and  he  had  been  lodged 
opposite  the  church.  On  hearing  him,  I  said  to  myself:  "Can 
the  others  have  marched  away?  Are  there  left  only  the  peo- 
ple of  Baler,  and  do  they  wish  to  say  to  us  something  worth 
while  ?"  I  ordered  the  "attention"  to  be  sounded  and  the  white 
jBag  raised. 


Under  the  Eed   axd   Gold.  73 

A  man  presented  himself,  and  delivered  to  us  a  package 
containing  three  letters.  One  was  from  Villacorta,  telling  us 
that  Captain  Bellota  had  arrived  at  the  camp;  that  he  had  come 
to  confer  with  us,  and  that  for  this  purpose  hostilities  were 
suspended  until  the  termination  of  the  conference,  which  would 
take  place  at  such  hour  and  in  such  manner  as  we  might  de- 
termine. Another  letter  was  from  the  said  Captain,  inform- 
ing us  that  he  had  been  sent  to  Baler  for  tlie  conference.  The 
third  was  from  the  curate.  Friar  Mariano  Gil  Atienza,  begging 
us  for  God's  sake  to  hear  and  give  credit  to  what  Bellota  would 
tell  us. 

I  answered  the  bearer  that  he  might  tell  the  Captain  that 
I  was  waiting  for  him  right  there  in  the  plaza.  I  was  impru- 
dent enough  to  wait  in  the  plasa,  and  it  might  have  cost  me 
my  life.  But  no  one  presented  himself;  and  as  it  began  to 
grow  dark  I  ordered  the  white  flag  to  be  lowered,  and  that  any 
Insurredo  that  might  l)e  seen  should  be  fired  at,  because  every- 
thing indicated  that  all  this  had  been  nothing  more  than  a 
ruse.  They  had  feigned  the  mediation  of  a  person  who  might 
find  no  difficulty  in  presenting  himself  to  us  simply  to  see  if 
we  would  consent  to  receive  him. 

Considering  our  situation,  it  is  easy  to  imagine  that  this 
event  would  set  me  to  thinking.  Assuming  it  as  a  fact  that 
the  Spanish  domination  had  ceased  in  the  Archipelago,  as  we 
had  been  assured,  why  not  wait  for  the  official  notification  of 
such  an  occurrence?  If  the  war  were  going  badly  and  we  must 
withdraw  from  Baler,  how  was  it  that  notice  in  due  form  was 
wanting?  If  there  were  so  many  capitulations,  why  not  show 
us  some  of  the  surrendered  commanders? 

The  news  of  the  presence  of  Bellota  led  me  to  hope  that 
our  doubts  would  come  to  an  end.  For  this  reason  I  went  out 
myself,  risking  everything,  to  the  promised  conference.     I  was. 


74  UxDER  THE   Red   axd   Gold. 

no  doubt,  carried  away  by  perfectly  natural  impatience;  and 
on  finding  myself  deceived,  my  mistrust  was  necessarily  in- 
creased. The  danger  risked  on  tliat  occasion,  the  seriousness 
of  which  I  quickly  appreciated,  made  me  more  cautious  and 
suspicious.  Bear  in  mind — think,  I  repeat,  of  the  series  of 
traps  with  which  they  had  tried  to  ensnare  me,  and  my  bearing 
thereafter  will  l)e  appreciated. 

And  now  came  the  night  of  December  31st,  the  last  of  the 
year,  the  first  of  1899,  the  one  hundred  and  eighty- fourth  of 
the  siege.  The  last  page  of  tlie  American  calendar  disck)sed 
to  my  eyes  the  now  useless  piece  of  pasteboard  to  whii-h  it  liad. 
been  glued,  and  on  tearing  it  off  I  had  a  feeling,  painful,  in- 
definable, which  might  well  be  called  romantic,  l)ut  —  what 
more  romantic,  after  all,  than  that  same  tenacity  in  defending 
ourselves?  Eegard  it  as  yoti  will:  but  1,  who.  starving  for  sleep 
and  without  hope  of  succor,  had  gone  on  tcariiig  off  those 
leaves,  seeing  them  disappear  like  dead  comrades — I.  who  with 
the  dwindling  of  that  calendar  saw  also  the  disa]>poarance  of 
our  carefully  doled  out  ammunition  and  rations — I  could  not 
regard  with  indifference  the  disappearance  from  its  place  of 
that  which  left  exposed  traces  of  the  past  with  all  its  bitterness 
and  sadness. 

The  new  year  appeared  to  come  sinister  and  dark,  with 
despair  at  its  end;  and  I  felt  an  irresistible  faintness,  an  op- 
pression that  was  sttffocating  me,  the  want  of  some  one  in 
whom  I  cottld  confide  my  anxieties  and  the  heaviness  of  the 
duty  which  was  crushing  me;  and  1  had  to  shut  myself  up  in 
silence. 

I  must  say  it.  One  of  the  things  that  most  weighed  upon 
my  spirits  during  those  interminable  days  and  in  those  nights 
of  wakeful  apprehension  was  the  secrecy  with  which  I  had  to 
guard  my  pttrposes,  the  want  of  consttltation  and  advice.     To 


UxDER  THE  Eed   axd   Gold.  75 

no  one  could  I  confide  my  perplexities;  since,  in  order  not  to 
discourage  my  men,  I  had  to  appear  confident  and  resolute 
and  to  share  with  no  one  my  belief  in  our  most  serious  situ- 
ation. Vigil  was  the  only  one  who,  by  reason  of  his  education 
and  class,  could  be  of  use  to  me  as  a  companion  and  confidant. 
But  Vigil,  whose  uprightness  of  soul  and  great  patriotism  I 
cannot  find  words  to  praise  as  they  should  he,  was  wanting  in 
military  knowledge.  His  appointment  in  tlie  Army  was  tem- 
porary. And,  if  he  was  our  good  angel  in  many  things,  our 
constant  help,  he  could  not  be  my  adviser  in  those  most  diffi- 
cult circumstances.  I  was  compelled,  therefore,  to  judge  for 
myself  alone,  on  all  occasions;  a  thing  in  truth  more  crushing 
than  it  would  seem. 

In  order  not  to  lose  track  of  the  days,  we  substituted  a 
Avritten  calendar  for  the  one  that  had  run  out,  of  similar  form 
and  with  leaves  in  which  we  wrote  the  month,  the  date,  tlie 
day  of  the  week.  Before  each  monthly  bunch  had  run  out,  we 
prepared  anotlier  for  the  next   uionth. 

But  the  rice  was  all  gone  by  this  time,  and  we  had  to  de- 
vote ourselves  to  hulling  the  seventy  cavanes  of  palay  (unhuUed 
rice)  that  the  deceased  Padre  Carreiio  had  bought.  The  task 
is  wearisome  and  always  difficult  to  those  unaccustomed  to  it : 
exasperatingly  sIoav  and  at  that  time  with  results  little  gratify- 
ing; since,  in  consequence  of  tlie  very  bad  manner  in  whicb 
we  were  obliged  to  store  it,  and  our  inability  to  properly  ex- 
pose it  to  tlie  sun,  it  cost  a  great  deal  of  labor  to  separate  the 
hull  grain  by  grain.  In  doing  so  all  delicacy  and  care  was  used, 
all  the  care  demanded  by,  I  shall  not  say  necessity,  but  hunger; 
and  even  then  not  a  grain  came  out  whole,  which  caused  a  great 
deal  of  loss. 

As  the  condition  of  the  troops  did  not  warrant  calling  u])- 
on  them  for  unnecessary  labor,  I  had  to  reduce  the  time  de- 


76  UXDER    THE    EeD    AXD     GoLD. 

voted  to  this  work  to  so  many  hours  daily,  to  get  out  only  what 
v.as  indispensable  for  the  ration,  and  this  of  rice  that  was  dirty, 
])owdc'ry,  unfit.  I  ler.vo  it  to  any  one  to  imagine  how  tempting 
it  was,  seasoned,  in  such  a  condition,  Avith  tinned  sardines  h;df 
unserviceable,  intoleraV)le  bacon,  or  pumj^kin  leaves,  and  with- 
out salt.  To  give  it  something  of  a  flavor,  we  mixed  it  with 
some  small  wild  peppers,  very  sharp  (red  peppers  might  l)e 
considered  sweet  as  compared  with  them),  Avhich  are  very 
abundant  in  that  country. 

Xevcrtheless  this  was  the  best  the  garrison  of  Baler  had 
daily  from  the  beginning  of  the  year  1899,  when  it  had  already 
sustained  one  hundred  and  eighty-four  days  of  siege,  when 
forty  had  passed  since  we  lost  our  commandant,  when  the  ra- 
tion of  flour,  which  ought  to  have  been  500  grams,  had  to  i)e 
reduced  to  200,  and  wlien  I  found  myself  under  the  necessity 
of  cutting  off  the  small  advance  of  five  cents  every  three  days, 
which,  in  order  to  conjpensate  for  the  deficiency  of  rations,  had 
been  given  to  each  man  since  the  beginning  of  the  siege. 

On  tlie  13th  of  January  Private  Marcos  Jose  Petana  was 
wounded.  During  one  of  these  nights  the  enemy,  under  cover 
of  darkness,  left  near  tlie  door  of  the  church  a  package  contain- 
ing seven  or  eight  Fi]i]uno  newspapers,  which  we  were  surprised 
to  find  the  following  day.  I  ought  not  to  have  read  them.  Tlieir 
items  gave  no  information  of  anything.  They  might  be  called 
a  froth  of  insults,  or  fihliy,  disgusting  vituperation  against 
Spain  and  her  sons;  against  that  generous  Xation  which  had 
brought  to  such  distant  lauds,  and  at  the  cost  of  Spanish  blood, 
the  liglit  of  tlie  Gospel;  and  against  her  sons,  from  whom  those 
swarms  of  wretched  aliorigines  had  received  their  first  notions 
of  humanity  and  culture. 

1  remember  that  one  of  those  caterpillar  secretions,  not 
calling  them  news,  related  tbat  in  Manila  a  Casiila  disguised 


Undee  the  Eed  and   Gold.  77 

as  an  Indio  (native)  had  robbed  a  lady  (a  native  woman,  per- 
haps, disguised  as  a  Castila)  of  her  portemonnaxe,  and  that  the 
Americans  had  seized  him  to  put  him  in  prison. 

Another  shameless  item  published  an  instance  of  the  par- 
ish priest  of  Albulug  (Cagayan),  Friar  Jose  Brugues,  begging 
a  Filipino  general  to  allow  him  to  remain  in  the  pueblo  named, 
in  order  to  look  after  the  coffee  plantations  that  the  priest 
owned  there.  The  article  affirmed  that  this  action  showed  that 
the  priest  was  favorably  disposed  to  the  insurrection,  as  he  had 
demonstrated,  it  added,  by  often  furnishing  all  kinds  of  aid 
to  the  Tagalogs. 

The  effect  produced  upon  me  by  this  unfortunate  reading 
could  not  be  worse.  I  tore  the  paper  in  pieces,  vowing  not  to 
touch  another  one  even  though  they  should  put  it  on  the  tower 
itself. 

The  month  of  February  came  without  anything  to  note 
other  than  the  already  described  firings  and  the  increasing  pov- 
erty of  our  supplies.  The  epidemic  carried  away  another 
victim  on  the  13th,  causing  the  death  of  Private  Jose  Saus 
Meramendi. 

On  the  14th,  becoming  annoyed  by  hearing  the  enemy's 
trumpets  sounding  a  parley,  I  went  up  into  the  tower  to  ob- 
serve what  was  going  on  about  us.  Xear  one  of  the  fortified 
houses,  marked  on  the  map,  I  discovered  the  trumpeter,  and 
with  him  another  man  ready  to  raise  the  white  flag.  Xoting 
our  silence,  this  individual  went,  after  a  few  moments,  toward 
the  so-called  "Bridge  of  Spain."  It  was  there  that  we  believed 
the  enemy's  headquarters  was  located,  because  they  had  fortified 
it,  closing  both  ends  and  strengthening  it  against  any  attack, 
with  truly  noteworthy  skill. 

I  continued  my  observation.  The  man  with  the  flag  had 
no  sooner  disappeared  than  he  appeared  again  and  returned 


78  UXDER    THE    EeD    AXD     GoLD. 

to  his  former  place.  "The}'  must  have  beaten  you,"  I  thought 
on  seeing  this,  '•'or  you  would  not  have  come  back  in  such  a 
hurry;"'  and  from  the  brevity  of  his  stay  I  might  well  have 
thought  this.  Twice  again  the  trumpet  sounded  the  "atten- 
tion," without  any  reply  from  us.  I  remained  on  watch  to  see 
how  all  this  would  end,  puzzled,  not  by  the  strangeness  of  the 
proceeding  itself,  which  offered  nothing  in  particular,  but  by 
its  insistency,  and  especially  by  the  rapid  coming  and  going  of 
the  n:an  who  was  carrying  the  flag. 

Il  generally  happened,  as  I  have  already  had  occasion  to 
note,  that  if,  instead  of  replying  to  a  call  for  a  parley,  we  re- 
mained silent,  they  would  become  timid  and  withdraw  for  fear 
of  our  firing  upon  them.  Judge  of  my  surprise,  then,  when  I 
saw  t]ie  individual,  or,  rather,  the  flag  he  carried,  dart  into 
Cardinal  Cisneros  Street  and  move  in  our  direction.  I  cried 
out  to  him  to  halt  and  to  go  back  to  the  trenches  at  once. 

"Are  you  Captain  Las  Morenas?"  he  said  on  seeing  me. 

"Xo,"  I  replied;  "I  am  one  of  the  officers  of  the  Detach- 
ment.    Why  do  you  come  here?" 

"1  am  Captain  Don  Miguel  Olmedo,  and  I  come  on  the 
part  of  the  Captain-General  to  speak  with  Sehor  Las  Morenas.'' 

"Captain  Las  Morenas  does  not  speak  to  anyone,  nor  does 
he  wish  to  receive  anyone.  He  has  already  been  deceived  many 
times,  and  he  is  determined  that  they  shall  not  deceive  him 
again.    Tell  me  what  you  wish  to  say  and  I  shall  tell  it  to  him." 

He  replied  that  the  General  knew  very  well  that  attempts 
had  been  made  to  deceive  us;  but  that  now  there  was  no  dan- 
ger, l)erause  everything  he  now  had  to  say  was  true;  and  that 
he  was  );ringing  an  official  paper  from  our  chief  authority  in 
tbe  Archipelago. 

^Ye  were  holding  this  dialogue,  I  from  the  trench  and  he 
about  forty  paces  away.     On  hearing  that  he  brought  an  official 


Under  the  Eed  axd   Gold.  79 

comnmnication,  I  ordered  out  a  soldier  to  bring  it  to  me;  but 
the  bearer  refused  to  deliver  it  for  some  time,  saying  that  he 
had  positive  orders  to  deliver  it  in  person.  But  when  I  hinted, 
in  order  to  put  an  end  to  the  argument,  that  if  he  did  not  wish 
to  deliver  it,  he  must  withdraw  with  it  at  once,  he  gave  way  to 
my  ultimatum  and  sent  the  message  to  me  by  the  soldier. 

Then  I  said  to  him :  "You  may  wait.  I  am  going  to  see 
what  the  Captain  determines."  And  I  went  in  as  if  I  were 
going  for  the  purpose  named,  and  read  the  following: 

"The  treaty  of  peace  between  Spain  and  the  United  States 
having  been  signed,  and  the  sovereignty  of  these  Islands  having 
been  ceded  to  the  latter  nation,  you  will  evacuate  the  place, 
bringing  away  with  you  armament,  munitions,  and  the  treasure- 
chests,  being  guided  by  the  verbal  instructions  that,  by  my  or- 
der, will  be  communicated  to  you  by  Don  Miguel  Olmedo  y 
Calve.     God  keep  you  many  years. 

"Diego  de  los  Bios. 

"Manila,  February  1st,  1899." 

And  at  the  bottom : 

"Sehor  Commandante  politico-militar  of  the  District  of 
El  Principe,  Don  Enrique  de  las  Morenas,  Captain  of  Infantry." 

Wondering  at  such  a  personal  command,  I  again  read  over 
the  paper  with  all  the  mistrust  that  may  be  imagined.  I  ob- 
served that  it  did  not  appear  to  have  been  recorded  anywhere. 
"Come,"  I  thought,  "it  has  not  occurred  to  them  to  number 
the  communication,  and  yet,  besides  naming  at  the  foot  the 
official  title  of  the  person  to  whom  it  is  directed,  they  have  not 
forgotten  to  write,  with  care,  the  name  and  surname,  a  redund- 
ancy entirely  unnecessary.  And  they  bother  themselves  about 
the  treasure-chests,  something  we  know  notliing  about  here,  not 
even  remotely."  I  turned  to  the  soldiers  and  said:  "It  is 
nothing;  the  same  old  song."  I  then  went  out  to  the  trench  and 


80  Ukder  the  Red  and  Gold. 

said  to  the  so-called  Captain  Olmedo:  "Captain  Las  Morenas 
has  said,  'A^ery  well.     You  may  withdraw.' " 

Instead  of  withdrawing,  he  answered  that  he  would  like  to 
remain  in  the  church,  because  he  was  wet  through.  I  refused 
this,  and  he  asked  me  where  he  was  going  to  sleep  that  night. 
^^Vhere  you  slept  the  other  nights,"'  I  replied. 

He  then  began  to  complain,  arguing  that  it  could  not  be 
true  that  Las  Morenas  would  behave  in  that  way  toward  him, 
since  they  were  fellow-countrymen,  had  gone  to  school  together, 
and  claiming  I  do  not  know  how  many  bonds  of  intimacy  be- 
tween them.  "Well,"  he  exclaimed  finally,  "when  must  I  re- 
turn for  the  answer?"  "Wlien  we  sound  the  'attention'  and 
raise  the  white  flag,"  I  said;  "and  if  we  fail  to  do  so,  you  need 
not  trouble  yourself,  because  there  will  then  be  no  answer."  He 
then  went  away,  and  I  did  not  see  him  again. 

For  several  nights  after  this  we  could  hear  him  talking  in 
the  haliay,  or  house,  of  the  under  Governor,  which  house  was 
also  fortified;  from  which  we  inferred  that  he  must  have  been 
some  Insurrecto  chief. 

Who  could  suppose  anything  else?  WTio  could  imagine 
that  any  captain  of  the  Army  would  have  presented  himself, 
with  a  message  of  so  much  importance,  dressed  as  a  country- 
man, making  use  of  the  enemy's  trumpets,  asking  for  a  parley 
in  the  identical  way  in  which  it  had  been  asked  for  so  many 
times  before,  and  without  displaying  any  Spanish  insignia,  any 
outward  sign  which  would  indicate  that  he  was  one  of  our  own? 

I  also  considered  that  if  he  had  been  a  schoolmate  of  our 
dead  Captain,  he  would  not  have  failed  to  notice  at  once  that 
I  was  not  the  Captain,  and  therefore  would  not  have  asked  me 
if  I  were  Las  jMorenas.  Xeither  was  it  a  detail  to  pass  un- 
noticed that  he  claimed  to  be  wet  through  and  that  he  had  no 
place  to  stay,  while  his  clothing  did  not  appear  to  be  wet  at 


Under  the  Red  a^^^b  Gold.  81 

all,  and  when  it  was  a  natural  thing  that,  enemy  or  no  enem\', 
he  coTild  count  on  the  assistance  and  tolerance  of  our  besiegers. 
Moreover,  there  was  the  very  recent  occurrence  of  Belloto,  who 
announced  himself  as  a  captain  of  the  Army,  and  who  after- 
wards did  not  find  it  convenient  to  show  himself. 

It  might  very  well  be  tliat  an  ingenious  ruse  was  intended; 
that  on  the  former  occasion  their  resolution  to  carry  it  out  had 
failed  at  the  critical  moment ;  and  that,  having  knowledge  later, 
through  some  treachery,  of  the  death  of  the  Military  Governor, 
they  had  planned  this  deception,  forging  the  communication 
without  considering  the  matter  of  the  treasure-chests,  nor  the 
want  of  a  record  number,  nor  the  superfluity  in  the  personal 
direction.  And,  confiding  in  the  favorable  reception  of  tlie  doc- 
ument, they  thought  to  bring  about  our  surrender. 

It  is  very  certain  that  the  delights  of  Baler  could  not  have 
been  the  cause  of  my  doubts  and  delays.  Xobody  more  than 
ourselves  desired  to  put  an  end  to  it  all,  to  change  those  scenes, 
to  finish  it  at  once,  if  the  circumstances  had  warranted  it.  But 
then,  I  had  to  bear  in  mind  Article  748  of  the  Field  Eegulations, 
which  says:  "Eemembering  that  in  war  all  kinds  of  deceptions 
and  ruses  are  resorted  to,  even  when  a  written  order  from  su- 
perior authority  is  received  to  surrender  the  place,  its  executioji 
will  be  suspended  until  its  complete  authenticity  is  made  cer- 
tain, sending,  if  possil)le,  a  person  of  confidence  to  verify  it 
verbally."  It  was  unequivocal  and  I  was  not  in  position  to  as- 
certain the  authenticity  of  that  order;  I  couhl  not  quit  tliat 
post  of  honor  without  satisfying  myself  that  I  was  not  the  vic- 
tim of  a  ruse;  that  afterwards  my  credulity  could  not  be  im- 
puted to  my  desire;  that  I  was,  in  fact,  obeying  orders.  All  these 
were  considerations  which,  apparent!}',  in  the  general  subver- 
sion of  things,  were  not  borne  in  mind  by  those  by  whom  they 
should  have  been  taken  into  account. 


82  UXDER    THE    EeD    AXD     GoLD. 

FEOM  FEBRUAEY  25tii  TO  APRIL  Stii. 

COXSPIPtACY     DISCOVERED.  —  L'XEXPECTED      GAME.  —  ImITATIXG 

EoBixsox   Crusoe. — Ambuscade.  —  Eeprisals.  —  Moderx 
CAXXox. — Attacks  repelled. — The  bacox  gives  out. 

During  the  time  I  had  been  in  command  of  the  individ- 
uals thiat  composed  the  Detachment  there  had  been  alnindant 
opportunity  to  know  each  one  tliorotighlv.  If  there  l>e  a  time 
when  our  souls  are  laid  bare^  so  to  speak,  when  are  made  evi- 
dent the  vices  and  virtues,  the  strength  or  weakness  tliat  we  all 
bear  in  the  most  hidden  recesses  of  our  nature,  it  is  when 
danger  afflicts  and  oppresses  us,  when  suffering  discourages  us. 
and  when  tlie  mysterious  change  of  death  is  presented  close  at 
hand,  with  the  cutting  off  of  hope  and  life. 

Then  are  shown  in  a  powerful  light  tlie  faitli  and  enthu- 
siasm that  deify  us,  or  the  selfishness  that  lirutalizes  us ;  and 
a  man  makes  himself  a  martyr,  attains  the  heights  of  heroism, 
or  descends  into  the  wretchedness  of  crime,  falls  completely  in- 
to tlie  cowardice  that  makes  him  infamous. 

Among  the  defenders  of  that  far-away  church  of  Baler 
this  phenomenon  had  perforce  to  prove  true:  and  I,  who  enter- 
tained no  illusions,  who  was  fully  aware  of  the  strrmg  teni])- 
tations  tluit  miglit  seduce  my  men,  whetli^er  l)y  the  inducements 
and  threats  uttered  with  loud  cries,  day  after  dav.  from  the 
enemy's  trenches,  or  whether  by  the  sufferings  we  were  under- 
going, left  unnoticed  no  indications,  no  detail,  which  would 
enaljle  me  to  know  the  true  character  of  each  man.  1  knew, 
then,  that  in  that  place  were  hearts  of  extraordinary  excellence, 
men  of  fiber,  and  hearts  pusillanimous;  souls  capable  of  every 


Under  the  Eed  and   Gold.  83 

kind  of  initiative;  and  irresolute  souls,  of  the  kind  that  allow 
themselves  to  be  led  passively  in  any  direction;  honorable  dis- 
positions and  dishonorable  dispositions. 

I  did  not  attempt  to  hide  from  myself  the  danger.  I  knew, 
therefore,  that  if  without  there  were  ambuscade,  within  there 
could  be  treason;  that  the  smallest  weakness  or  vacillation  on 
my  part  might  precipitate  our  ruin;  and  that  there  was  noth- 
ing for  me  but  the  exercise  of  continual  vigilance  and  extreme 
rigor,  the  former  the  more  difficult  and  the  latter  the  more  se- 
vere because  I  was  the  only  person  there  with  authority  to  act. 

J  was,  tlierefore,  not  very  mucli  surprised  at  the  informa- 
tion that  was  laid  before  me  on  the  25th  of  February,  nor  did 
I  hesitate  a  moment  in  coming  to  a  decision.  The  matter  which 
at  first  seemed  to  be  only  an  attempt  at  desertion,  turned  out 
later  to  be  something  much  more  serious. 

I  had  determined  upon  my  line  of  conduct.  It  was  based 
on  the  common  safety  of  all,  regulated  by  the  demands  of 
duty,  and  I  had  to  follow  it.  There  was  no  room  for  any 
other  course  than  to  be  pitilessly  inexorable. 

Private  Loreto  Gallego  Garcia  informed  me  that  his  com- 
panion, Antonio  Menache  Sanchez,  intended  to  desert  to  the 
enemy.  This  belief  was  founded  on  the  declaration  of  Men- 
ache  himself.  Gallego  had  been  keeping  a  small  sum  of 
money  belonging  to  Menaebe,  a  not  inicommon  thing  among 
comrades,  and  about  two  months  before  this  the  latter  had 
asked  for  it,  confessing  that  he  had  the  intention  of  joining 
the  Tagalogs,  "because  he  had  taken  it  into  his  head  to  do  it." 

His  companion  had  taken  it  as  a  joke  or  had  mildly  cen- 
sured it.  He  had  not  again  referred  to  it,  and  it  appeared  to 
have  been  forgotten;  when,  on  the  night  of  February  2J;th,  at 
about  ten  o'clock,  Menache  was  seen  to  climb  secretly,  well 
wrapped  in  his  blanket,  up  the  little  stairway  from  the  closet; 


84  Under  the  Red  and  Gold. 

to  closely  observe  the  enemy's  camp;  and  then  to  crawl  on  all 
fourc  to  the  rights  where,  at  a  short  distance,  was  a  window 
which,  although  loopholed  as  they  all  were,  offered  an  easy 
exit. 

All  this  being  observed  by  the  nearest  sentry,  he  had  twice 
called  upon  Menache  to  halt;  but  the  latter,  without  replying 
and  still  on  all  fours,  had  gone  back  hastily  by  the  same  way. 
It  was  seen,  when  he  came  down  the  little  stairs,  that  he  was 
carrying  his  rifle  in  his  right  hand.  ]\Ienache  was  a  vagabond 
who  had  been  taken  up  and  then,  like  many  others,  sent  to  the 
Army  in  the  Philippines.  He  had,  therefore  a  suspicious  past, 
which,  added  to  his  indiscretion  of  two  months  before,  and  the 
occurrence  just  stated,  justified   Gallego's  suspicion. 

I  called  Menache  and  asked  him  what  he  had  intended 
to  do.  He  began  by  denying  most  positively,  resorting  to  all 
sorts  of  oaths,  weeping  and  grieving  bitterly.  But  I,  who  for 
my  own  part  had  been  observing  certain  strange  whisperings 
and  certain  negligences,  pressed  him  closely  and  in  such  a 
way,  being  certain  of  his  guilt  on  account  of  his  con- 
tradictions and  blunderings,  that  he  finished  by  telling  me 
everything. 

It  was  something  more  serious  than  I  had  supposed,  but 
something  also  that  might  have  been  conceived.  It  was  a  mat- 
ter of  veritable  conspiracy;  and  if  it  had  not  gone  further,  it 
was  not  for  want  of  will  in  the  culprits,  but  of  opportunity; 
and  I  must  say  to  the  honor  of  their  brave  companions,  for 
want  of  "atmosphere." 

The  said  Menache  had,  a  long  time  before,  conspired 
W'ith  another  soldier,  Jose  Alcaide  Bayona,  whose  name,  of 
execrable  memory,  I  shall  have  occasion  to  repeat  later  on; 
and  the  two  having  agreed  with  one  of  the  corporals,  Vicente 
Gonzdles  Toca,  the  escape  had  been  prepared. 


Under  the  Bed  aot)  Gold.  85 

It  was  undeniable  that  if  they  had  not  realized  their  pur- 
pose, it  must  have  been  because  they  wished  to  extend  the  con- 
spiracy and  to  accomplish  it  on  some  occasion  when  they  might 
gain  the  good-will  of  the  enemy.  Everything  appeared  to  in- 
dicate this,  because  otherwise  it  was  not  understood  why  these 
men  remained  and  suffered  the  privations  of  the  siege.  Sep- 
arately they  could  have  escaped  at  almost  any  time;  but  now 
the  attempt  of  Menache,  leaving  his  companions  in  the  church, 
gave  reason  to  suspect  many  things.  What  had  they  been 
plotting?  Were  the  others  to  have  followed  him  one  after 
another?  Were  they  to  remain  planning  some  abominable 
treachery  that  he  was  to  communicate  to  the  enemy?  Well 
might  this  be  so. 

I  proceeded  to  institute  proper  inquiries,  because  in  more 
than  one  way  the  offense  was  serious,  and  I  had  to  take  pre- 
cautions. I  found  out  that  they  had  decided  only  to  go  over 
to  the  Tagalogs,  each  taking  his  rifle,  two  knapsacks,  and  the 
cartridge-box  from  his  equipments,  filled  with  ammunition; 
that  they  had  no  accomplices;  and  that  it  had  all  been  spoiled 
by  the  irresolution  of  Menache.  The  last  was  evident;  the 
want  of  accomplices  probable;  the  rest  is  not  very  clear. 

I  persisted  in  my  inquiries,  but  could  find  them  guilty 
only  of  other  acts  which  were  serious  enougli,  but  yet  foreign 
to  their  military  obligations.  There  was  no  other  course  but 
to  make  sure  of  them  by  placing  them  at  once  in  close  con- 
finement. In  the  situation  in  which  I  found  myself  I  could 
legally  have  ordered  them  shot  summarily,  since,  after  all,  the 
circumstances  seemed  to  demand  it,  in  order  to  prevent  great- 
er evils;  but  I  did  not  wish  to  do  so.  I  ordered  them  shut  up 
in  the  baptistery;  and  although  I  placed  irons  on  them,  it 
was  because  of  the  little  security  afforded  by  the  door,  or  grat- 
ing, of  that  room,  and  of  the  alarming  perversity  exhibited 
by  these  men. 


86  UxDER  THE  Bed   axd   Gold. 

Consider  the  impression  that  this  occurrence  made  on 
me.  I  was  becoming  suspicious  of  iny  own  shadow.  From 
the  beginning  of  the  siege  I  had  not  enjoyed  the  luxury  of 
a  quiet  sleep,  and  since  everything  had  come  into  my  hands 
I  had  scarcely  any  opportunity  for  sleep.  I  slept  when  I  was 
walking,  when  I  was  watching,  and  when  I  was  eating;  on 
foot  and  when  I  was  seated;  when  I  was  speaking  and  when 
I  was  silent;  my  state  was  a  perpetual  vigilance,  ray  head  a 
vexation,  my  body  that  of  an  automaton. 

In  this  condition  the  incident  of  the  conspiracy  had  su- 
pervened, proving  the  insulhciency  of  my  efforts,  and  in  the 
face  of  that  I  could  not  but  feel  desperate.  My  nerves  reached 
such  a  state  that  a  light  murmur,  tlie  slightest  noise,  kept  me 
awake  in  racking  agitation.  I  seemed  to  find  alarming  appear- 
ances in  everything;  and  in  everything  cause  for  suspicion 
and  dread.  It  is  difficult  to  imagine  the  despair  and  suffer- 
ing produced  by  a  failure  of  physiological  powers  when  an 
ardent  will  demands  their  exercise.  I  sought  in  vain  for  light 
for  my  brain,  which  was  becoming  stupefied,  vigor  for  my 
arms,  resistance  against  the  overpowering  heaviness  of  lassi- 
tude. God  will  put  it  to  my  account.  Eecalling  it  now,  I 
doubt  if  it  were  not  all  a   frightful  nightmare. 

It  is  happily  so  that  after  the  blackest  night  may  come 
a  most  joyous  morning.  In  the  miserably  poor  condition  to 
which  our  ration  supply  had  now  Ijeen  reduced,  nothing  so 
grateful  could  have  been  offered  to  us  as  fresh  meat,  and  at 
the  same  time  there  was  notliing  apparently  more  impossible 
to  have.  How  often  had  we  regretted  those  three  or  four 
horses  which  I  had  kept  as  a  matter  of  foresight  at  the  time 
we  shut  ourselves  up;  and  which,  on  account  of  the  aversion 
of  the  rest,  I  had  been  obliged  to  turn  loose !  How  much  we 
would  have  given  for  those  pieces  of  venison  that  we  had  not 


UXDER    THE    EeD    AND     GOLD.  87 

cared  for  at  first!  But  no  one  thought  of  really  having  meat, 
because  it  was  considered  an  impossibility,  as  unlikely  as  it 
would  have  been  to  see  the  manna  and  quail  such  as  the  Is- 
raelites gathered  in  the  Exodus.  But  Heaven  itself  caused  the 
realization  of  the  miracle^  and  we  had  a  good  supply  of  meat, 
thanks  to  an  unexpected  hunting-party. 

On  a  certain  night'  towards  the  end  of  February  our  sen- 
tinels gave  notice  that  some  carabao  were  approaching  the 
church.  The  latter  being  surrounded  by  the  enemy's  trenches, 
which,  judging  from  the  constant  firing,  could  not  have  been 
abandoned,  the  presence  of  the  carabao  was  rather  strange. 
Ordinarily  it  was  necessary  to  go  to  the  forest  to  find  this 
species  of  animal,  wild,  timid,  afraid  of  man;  and  now  they 
had  come  even  into  the  enemy's  bivouacs  without  being  fright- 
ened by  his  presence  or  by  the  fires;  had  cleared  the  trenches, 
aad  were  circulating  freely  on  our  side. 

The  thing  was,  however,  easily  explained.  The  Tagalogs, 
notwithstanding  their  frugality,  were  unwilling  to  deprive 
themselves  of  meat;  and,  in  order  to  have  it  at  hand  when  they 
wished  it,  they  had  gotten  together  a  small  herd  of  those  nu- 
tritive ruminantvS,  and  had  turned  them  loose  to  graze  between 
their  possessions  and  ours.  Perhaps  they  thought  that  even 
though  we  might  kill  one  of  them,  it  would  be  the  Tagalogs 
who  would  profit  by  the  chase. 

On  the  night  in  (|uestion,  owing  to  the  singularity  of  the 
visit,  which  took  us  by  surprise,  we  succeeded  only  in  driving 
the  carabao  away.  One  of  the  sentinels  fired  hastil}',  but  did 
not  make  a  hit.  But  on  tlie  following  night  I  went  to  the 
trench  with  five  of  the  Ix-'st  marksmen,  first  warning  them 
not  to  fire  except  as  I  ordered;  and  all  to  aim  behind  the 
shoulder-blade  of  the  same  animal. 

After  a  short  time.  Fortune  favored  us.     We  killed  one 


88  TJndek  the  Red  and  Gold. 

of  those  big  animals,  and  before  daylight  we  had  already  skin- 
ned and  quartered  it. 

We  had  a  protracted  feast.  It  was  useless  to  attempt  to 
restrain  the  soldiers.  So  great  was  their  hunger  that  thev 
became  almost  insane,  and  it  was  necessary  to  allow  them  to 
do  as  they  pleased  in  cutting  off  pieces  of  the  meat,  which  they 
roasted  and  devoured.  For  this  reason  the  meat  lasted  only 
three  days;  and  it  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that  the  men  ate 
so  much  the  first  day  that  their  stomachs  suffered,  ^^^len  this 
supply  was  all  gone,  we  repeated  the  chase,  killing  another 
carabao;  but  this  time  we  were  compelled  to  get  it  in  under 
the  enem/s  fire. 

As  there  was  no  salt,  nothing  could  be  preserved,  and  af- 
ter two  days  the  meat  became  totally  unfit  to  eat.  We  had 
to  lie  in  wait  again,  and  a  third  carabao  served  to  replenish 
the  provisions,  although  very  transitorily.  On  this  occasion 
we  hit  two  of  the  animals;  but  when,  on  the  following  day,  we 
tried  to  get  the  second  one  in,  it  was  already  swollen  and  be- 
ginning to  decompose. 

With  this  the  unexpected  hunting  came  to  an  end;  be- 
cause the  besiegers,  seeing  that  they  made  nothing  of  it  and 
that  they  could  not  keep  us  from  it,  drove  the  cattle  away. 
We  had  already  felt  the  need  of  salt;  but  now  we  found  it 
even  more  grievous  not  to  have  it,  on  account  of  the  service 
it  might  have  been  to  us  by  making  it  possible  to  preserve 
the  meat. 

But  the  benefit  we  derived  from  the  visit  of  the  carabao 
was  not  all  confined  to  the  nine  or  ten  days  that  we  had  a 
supply  of  meat.  The  hides  also  of  the  three  animals,  after 
being  well  dried  and  stretched,  were  very  useful  to  us  in  our 
barefoot  condition,  in  making  leatber  pads  for  the  soles  of  the 
feet.     In  order  that  there  should  be  no  waste  or  pilfering,  I 


Undek  the  Eed  and  Gold.  89 

kept  the  skins  myself,  from  which  I  cut  the  pieces  as  needed 
by  each  man.  Something  of  the  same  thing  was  done  by  that 
sovereign  of  Aragon  who  thus  protected  the  feet  of  his  war- 
riors from  the  stony  paths  of  the  Pyrenees. 

March  was  beginning,  and  the  troops  were  almost  without 
clothing.  At  first  they  had  persevered  in  mending  their  trou- 
sers, finally  converting  them  into  mere  breech-clouts,  and  in 
using  the  sleeves  of  their  blouses  to  patch  those  same  blouses, 
or,  rather,  the  sleeveless  garments  to  which  they  had  been  re- 
duced. But  when  there  was  no  longer  anything  from  which 
they  could  make  patches  and  the  tattered  garments  again  pre- 
sented new  rents;  when  the  thread  had  given  out  and  one 
after  another  the  needles  had  disappeared — each  man  was 
going  about  clothed  as  best  he  could  devise. 

To  remedy  this  state  of  nudity,  I  issued,  March  1st,  some 
sheets,  drawers,  and  shirts  from  the  hospital  supplies.  This 
gave  them  something  wherewith  to  clothe  themselves;  and 
then,  imitating  Robinson  Crusoe  on  his  desert  isle,  they  drew 
out  the  threads  from  a  piece  of  the  cloth,  and,  with  needles 
improvised  from  a  piece  of  wire,  it  was  not  long  before  they 
had  made  for  themselves  the  garments  most  demanded  by 
modesty. 

In  the  frontispiece  of  this  book,  a  reproduction  of  the 
picture  taken  when  we  arrived  at  the  capital  of  the  Archipel- 
ago, will  be  seen  some  who  still  wore  those  garments.  The 
others  had  thrown  them  aside  on  the  road  as  fast  as  they 
could  substitute  others,  because  they  were  ashamed  of  their 
appearance. 

On  the  35th,  the  festival  of  the  Incarnation,  the  last  palay 
was  hulled.  Everything  was  giving  out,  and  on  the  follow- 
ing day,  in  order  to  distract  the  soldiers,  I  ordered  a  trench 
opened  cutting  the  Street  of  Spain,  at  the  end  of  which  was 


90  Under   the  Eed   and   Gold. 

the  bridge  of  the  same  name.     I  have  already  said  that  the 
latter  was   covered   and   completely   fortified. 

ISTear  the  bridge^  to  the  right  of  the  street,  ro^^e  the  house 
of  the  GoljprnadorcUlo,  and  to  the  left,  next  to  the  street  called 
Cardinal  Cisneros,  was  another  house,  also  fortified  (the  pho- 
tograph of  which  is  shown),  in  which  were  cannon.  The  re- 
sult waSj  therefore,  that  from  the  trench  we  could  fire  upon 
the  entrance  to  the  bridge  and  ])revent  comnnmication  witii 
the  two  houses. 

The  work  was  completed  without  attracting  the  enemy's 
attention,  and  was  arranged  so  that  we  could  occupy  it  or  re- 
tire from  it  without  my  men  being  seen.  On  the  SSth  I  con- 
cealed a  few  men  there,  wlio  soon  surpri^ed  the  enemy  ^itli 
their  fire,  causing  him  to  abandon  three  men  in  the  street, 
two  killed  and  one  badly  wounded.  In  this  way,  Ijesides  oc- 
cupying and  animating  my  men,  I  proposed  to  show  that  we 
were  neither  discouraged  nor  asleep,  exasperating  the  enemy 
at  the  same  time  so  that  they  would  l^ecome  impatient  and 
attack  us  openly. 

And  attack  us  they  did,  but  at  a  distance  and  protected 
l)y  their  shelters;  the  attack  being  a  sustained  fii'e,  which  com- 
menced at  five  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  30th  and  lasted 
until  dark,  with  nothing  noteworthy  exce])t  llie  api)earance 
oE  a  modern  gmi,  one  o['  th')se  that  we  had  at  CVnite.  Its 
])rojectiles  shook  the  church,  b'ut  produced  no  considerabk^ 
damage. 

Afterwards  I  learned  that  Aguinaldo,  hearing  of  our  pro- 
longed resistance,  had  s^nt  Tiho,  one  of  his  generals,  with 
])artictdar  instructions  aiid  Jiumerous  forces,  among  \^]iom,  it 
appears,  we  caused  some  fifty  casualties  the  day  they  ai'rived; 
that  Tiiio  had  had  to  witlidraw  in  a  short  time,  informing  the 
leader  of  the  insurrection  that  the  church  of  Baler  could  not 


Under  the   Red   axd   Gold.  91 

be  taken  by  assault;  and  that  Aguinaldo  had  replied,  ''You 
will  see  that  it  can  be  taken,"  and  had  sent  this  modern  gnn 
for  that  purpose^  with  a  full  supply  of  shell  and  canister 
which — caused  nothing  to  be  seen  exce])t  oin-  hrm  tenaeitv  in 
the  defense. 

Imagining,  perhaps,  that  the  presence  of  tlie  gua  and  its 
discharges  might  have  broken  our  spirit,  they  demanded,  dur- 
ing the  late  hours  of  that  same  night,  a  parley,  with  rei)cate;i 
trumpet-calls;  and,  seeing  that  we  remained  silent,  tliey  again 
commenced  firing,  al)out  four  o'clock,  along  the  whole  line. 
The  consumption  of  ammunition  by  rifles  as  well  as  cannoii 
must  have  been  very  great  that  fine  iiiorniug;  and  1  say  "firie" 
because  not  only  did  it  have  no  bloody  result,  as  far  as  we 
were  concerned,  but  it  served  .actually  to  increase  our  enthu- 
siasm and  ardor. 

When  day  broke,  they  insisted  on  demanding  a  parley, 
thrusting  out  of  their  trenches  a  Aery  long  bamboo,  to  the 
end  oE  which  were  fastened  a  letter  and  a  package  of  news- 
papers. We  replied  liy  deliberately  firing  at  the  point  where 
it  seemed  to  us  we  might  find  a  target,  and  they  then  renewed 
the  attack.  This  diminished  somewhat  at  midday,  but  in  ibe 
early  hours  of  the  afternoon,  the  enemy  being  now  furious 
because  we  bad  not  received  their  message,  it  again  took  on 
formidable  proportions. 

A  great  crowd  of  people  unist  have  filled  the  enemy's 
trenches,  and  they  broke,  with  the  beginning  ot  the  firing,  in- 
to frightful  yelling.  The  voices  of  a  inultitude  of  women 
were  joined  to  those  of  our  ordinary  adversaries,  as  if  the 
whole  population  of  the  Island,  without  distinction  of  sex  or 
age,  had  come  together,  anxious  to  finish  us  by  a  definitive 
assault.  It  did  not  come  to  this;  on  the  contrary,  we  obliged 
them,  by  our  fire,  to  cease  using  their  cannon. 


92  UXDER    THE    EeD    AND     GOLD. 

During  the  first  eight  days  of  April  the  firing  ceased  only 
for  short  intervals,  but  they  used  the  new  gun  with  evident 
reluctance,  from  which  we  inferred  that  we  must  have  suc- 
ceeded in  inflicting  punishment  on  their  cannoneers.  Xeed- 
less  to  say  how  much  we  would  have  rejoiced  to  know  it. 

And  now  came  the  8th,  of  sad  memory,  because  on  that 
day  we  finished,  I  shall  not  say  the  remains,  but  the  last  filth- 
iness  of  tlic  bacon. 

I  have  already  said  that  the  palay  had  given  out;  the 
beans  were  now  about  finished,  and  the  coffee  was  going. 
There  was  nothing  for  it  but  a  resort  to  a  repugnant  extrem- 
ity, of  which  I  shall  speak  presently,  to  allay  the  fierce  hun- 
ger that  tormented  us;  to  have  recourse  to  it  or  to  surrender 
to  tlio  Tagalogs. 

Tiie  situation  cr)uld  not  have  been  more  difficult.  We  had 
sustained  the  siege  for  a  matter  of  two  hundred  and  eighty- 
two  days,  and  it  was  now  one  hundred  and  thirty-seven  sine 
the  command  devolved  on  me  by  the  deatli  of  Las  Morena-. 
Our  military  honrir  was  safe,  perfectly  safe;  our  necessities, 
however,  were  great :  but  by  surrendering  we  should  have  to 
humble  tln'  flag,  to  trust  our  lives  to  tbe  furious  rablile  that 
surrouudi'd  u.~.  to  exiinsc  ourselves  to  the  derision  of  our  in- 
famous deserters —  I  had  not  the  courage  to  do  it,  and  I  (!■  - 
termined  that  the  defense  sliould  be  continued. 


UXDER    THE    EeD    AXD     GoLD.  93 


V. 

APEIL. 
Hopes  of  succor. — A  vessel  ix  the  roadstead. — Fightixg 

AND    deception.  —  CONTINUOUS     PARLEYS.  —  We    WAIT.  — • 

Atte:mpted    burning,  —  Exploit    of    Vigil.  —  Without 

COFFEE. 

A  phenomenon  of  the  imagination,  born  of  the  simiLarity 
of  circumstances,  caused  me  cTail}'  to  reflect  upon  what  an  im- 
mense joy  must  be  the  appearance  of  a  hospitable  isUind  to 
the  crew  of  a  helpless  ship,  when  destitute  of  food  and  with- 
out resources  for  the  repair  of  their  vessel.  Our  church  might 
be  regarded  as  lost  in  the  solitude  of  the  ocean,  oui's  as  a  for- 
gotten expedition.  Without  subsistence,  with  no  means  of 
breaking  that  line  of  angry  enemies  who  day  after  day  were 
fighting  us  without  ceasing,  well  could  we  compare  ourselves 
with  the  dismasted  and  lonely  ship,  the  plaything  of  the  waves, 
surrounded  by  the  cruel  seas,  which  is  slowly  sinking,  jnock- 
ing  in  its  destruction  the  faith  and  devotion  of  its  brave 
mariners. 

To  complete  the  illusion,  there  was  not  even  wanting  the 
wash  of  the  waves,  which  becomes  so  irritating  in  very  long 
voyages.  Tlie  proximity  of  the  shore  brought  it  to  us  ])lainlv. 
Especially  in  the  silence  of  the  night  did  that  peculiar  roar- 
ing of  the  angry  surf  reach  us,  that  awful  moaning  ending 
with  a  menace,  which  seems  to  rise  from  the  depths  to  reach 
into  the  infinity  of  space. 

Daring  the  night  watches,  when  in  solitude  1  meditated, 
looking  our  helpless  state  in  the  face;  when,  thinking  of  the 
sufferings  we  had  undergone,  of  the  long  period  during  which 


94  UXDER    THE    EeD    AXD     GoLD. 

the  defense  had  been  sustained,  I  considered  that  meantime  so 
much  could  have  been  done  for  us  from  Manila,  from  the  head- 
quarters of  the  Arm_r,  from  Spain  itself;  when  to  all  my  cal- 
culations there  responded,  in  fine,  no  otlier  conclusion  than 
that  of  manifest  abandonment  and  sure  destruction,  I  confess 
that  the  voice  of  the  sea,  lugubrious  and  op|)ressive,  afflicted 
me  in  an  indefinalile  manner.  Tt  appeared  to  answer  my 
thoughts  by  the   announcement   of   mysterious   calamities. 

In  such  manner  did  all  this  possess  me  that,  I  confess  it, 
that  voice,  sad  at  times,  angry  at  others,  became  to  me  one 
of  the  most  terrible  things  of  the  night. 

On  April  17th,  between  two  and  three  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon, we  thought  we  heard  ten  cannon-shots  in  tlie  direction 
of  San  Jose  de  Casignan.  They  sounded  far  away,  and  ap- 
peared to  be  from  guns  of  large  caliber. 

]\[y  men  went  almost  mad  with  joy,  believing  that  it 
could  mean  notliing  but  the  arrival  of  a  strong  column  of  re- 
lief. And  this  joy  rose  to  the  highest  pitch,  almost  to  frenzy, 
when  at  night  we  saw  the  searchlight  directed  from  tlie  bay 
upon  the  church,  as  though  searching  us  out  to  protect  and 
support  us. 

Out  there  was  the  salvation  for  a  sight  of  which  we  had 
so  longingly  turned  our  eyes  to  the  ocean  solitudes;  and  the 
joy  we  felt  can  l)e  compared  only  to  that  which  must  be  fe1i 
by  unhappy  wretches  who,  as  they  are  about  to  sink,  suddenly 
behold  the  mist  torn  asunder  and,  close  to  the  bow  of  their 
ship,  the  smooth  beacli  covered  with  trees  and  smiling  with 
promises. 

We  could  not  doubt.  There  must  be  a  land  force,  and  a 
vessel  of  war  with  another  force  to  disembark  and  rescue  us. 
As  soon  as  it  is  day  they  will  begin  the  movement,  and  before 
ten  we  shall  have  them  with  us,  we  victorious,  the  siege  raised, 
and  this  almost  unsupportable  resistance  at  an  end. 


Under  the   Red   axd   Gold.  95 

I  think  it  can  be  asserted  that  during  the  night  there 
was  not  an  individual  in  that  church  who  was  not  a  vohinteer 
sentry,  peering  throngli  the  darkness,  listening  for  and  com- 
menting upon  the  slightest  sounds  that  reached  us  from  the 
enemy,  and  waiting  for  dawn  with  all  the  impatience  that  nuiy 
be  imagined. 

At  first  it  was  as  we  had  hoped.  In  the  early  hours  we 
heard  firing  close  at  hand  in  the  direction  of  the  sea,  which 
indicated  the  disembarkation.  Xotliiiig  was  heard  from  the 
direction  of  San  Jose,  which  troubled  ine  somewhat;  but  this 
inight  be  owing  to  the  want  of  a  well-considered  ])lan  of  co- 
operation, and,  as  it  was  not  long  before  the  firing  ceased,  we 
figured  tliat  it  was  only  a  matter  of  reconnaissance  uuide  by 
the  marines. 

When  the  afternoon  came,  it  seemed  as  though  the  thing 
were  now  going  on  in  earnest,  as  the  ship's  guns,  wliich  must 
have  been  of  great  power,  began  firing,  and  we  could  see  the 
Tagcilogs  in  confused  fliglit,  loaded  with  their  equijunents  and 
pctates  (sleeping-mats).  The  crasli  of  the  guns  was  so  great 
that  our  church  trembled  to  its  foundations.  We  were  trem- 
bling  also;  not   from    fear,  but   from    eagerness   and   ])Ieasure. 

Up  to  six  we  counted  the  shots,  one  after  another,  at  reg- 
ular intervals;  and  then,  noticing  that  the  series  was  discon- 
tinued, and  supposing  that  it  was  all  over,  since  the  Indians 
continued  their  flight,  I  directed  all  my  men  to  take  their 
rifles  to  the  loopholes,  and  then  1  ordered  three  consecutive 
volleys,  in  order  to  show  the  rescuing  party  that  we  were  still 
alive  and  were  still  defending  ourselves. 

Xight  closed  in  without  anything  to  indicate  that  they 
had  heard  us.  In  case  this  might  be  so,  and  in  case  they  had 
not,  by  chance,  seen  the  flag,  which  was  always  kept  raised  and 
flying,  I  ordered  two  soldiers  to  go  up  into  the  tower,  providinq- 


96  Under   the   Eed   and    Gold. 

themselves  with  a  very  loner  baml)oo,  to  the  end  of  which  was 
fastened  a  rao-  well  soaked  in  kerosene,  and  directed  them  to 
wave  it  lighted  when  the  ship  again  turned  her  searchlight 
on  lis. 

'Jliis  was  done,  but  we  had  only  silence  for  an  answer. 
At  four  o'clock  in  the  morning  the  searchlight  was  extin- 
guished; soon  afterwards  the  lights  of  the  vessel  passed  by  the 
Confites,  doubled  Point  Enchantment,  and  disappeared  on  the 
route  to  Manila. 

It  is  impossible  to  exaggerate  the  effect  that  such  a  with- 
drawal could  not  fail  to  produce  on  our  minds.  Even  if  I 
should  try  to  do  so,  I  could  not  find  adequate  words.  Let  any- 
one imagine  the  des]jair  we  must  have  ft-lt,  the  dejection  that 
weighed  upon  us  lilce  lead,  and  he  will  understand  the  little 
less  than  insuperaljle  diihculty  under  which  I  now  labored 
in  my  efforts  to  reanimate  my  soldiers. 

That  vessel  was  the  American  Yorldoirn.  Its  mission  was 
to  rescue  us;  l)ut  instead  of  doing  so,  it  was  g(jing  away,  leav- 
ing as  victims  of  the  enemy's  fury  fourteen  enlisted  men  and 
one  Oilicer,  wlio,  under  tlie-  protection  of  its  powerful  guns, 
and  provided  with  a  Gatling  gun,  had  succeeded  in  disem- 
barkiiig  to  tlieir  ruin. 

Xot  one  was  left  to  tell  the  tale,*  as  we  afterwards  learned. 


*This  is  a  mistake.  The  party,  seventeen  in  number,  including 
two  guides,  were  attacked  while  still  in  the  boat,  a  short  time  after 
thej'  entered  the  river.  At  the  first  volley  one  man  was  killed,  and 
one  mortally  and  one  seriously  wounded.  The  second  volley  wounded 
two  mortally  and  thiee  seriously.     One  lad  was  hit  four  times. 

The  oars  being  badly  shattered  and  the  survivors  being  im- 
peded in  their  movements  by  the  dead  and  wounded,  the  boat 
drifted  ashore  up  the  river,  where  another  man  was  wounded.  The 
rest,  being  overwhelmed  by  numbers,  surrendered. 

The  unhurt,  eight  in  number,  were  first  taken  to  San  Isidro. 
From  there  they  were  taken  to  the  west  coast,  where  they,  with 
other  Americans  and  Spaniards,  were  confined  in  various  towns  for 
eight  jnonths.     They  were  finally  abandoned  in  the  mountains   of 


Under  the   Red   and   Gold.  97 

Their  arms  and  the  gun  became  the  spoils  of  the  Tagalog-'. 
who,  well  intrenched  along  the  river  and  favored  by  the 
ground,  had  undoubtedly  taken  them  by  surprise  and  promptly 
defeated  them.  The  cannon-shots  of  the  afternoon  had  been 
directed  against  an  old  fortification  situated  at  the  mouth  of 
the  river,  where  the  besiegers  had  sheltered  themselves  strongly. 

Let  me  now  once  more  record  the  very  bad  conditions  un- 
der which  it  had  been  thought  proper  to  keep  the  Detachment 
at  Baler.  The  ease  with  which  it  could  be  cut  off  was  already 
evident,  notorious,  when  we  were  sent  there.  That,  consider- 
ing its  strength,  it  could  do  nothing  towards  the  tranquilli^\• 
of  the  territory,  was  also  evident.  To  what  end,  therefore, 
was  it  kept  there  condemned  to  a  useless  sacrifice? 

I  confess  my  dullness,  but  I  am  yet  unable  to  explain  it 
to  myself  satisfactorily.  I  do  not  attempt  to  l^lame  anyone, 
and  I  make  this  observation  with  all  due  respect.  But,  after 
all,  considering  the  great  sufferings  we  underwent  there,  I  be- 
lieve I  have  a  certain  right  to  make  it. 

Pardon  the  digression  and  let  us  proceed.  In  a  very 
short  time,  by  calling  upon  all  the  resources  of  my  scanty  elo- 
quence, I  was  enabled  to  tranquilize  the  others  and  even  my- 
self, arguing  that  it  was  only  a  matter  of  puttiiig  oli'  our 
rescue  for  a  few  days.  The  ship  had  not  brought  enough 
force  to  make  tlie  disembarkation  a  success,  and  it  was  sure 
to  be  sent  back. 

All  this  seemed  verv  natural.     We  were  then  ignorant  of 


northern  Luzon,  their  guard  running  away  at  the  approach  of  an 
American  force. 

The  united  party  made  its  way  to  a  point  about  ten  miles  from 
Aparri,  on  the  northeast  coast,  where  it  was  picked  up  by  a  Navy 
vessel  and  taken  to  Manila. 

The  story  of  their  wanderings  and  rescue  is  told  in  a  most 
interesting  manner  by  Lieutenant  Commander  Gilmore,  in  McClure's 
Magazine  for  August  and  September,  1900. 


98  UXDER     THE    EeD     .VXD     GOLD. 

wliat  had  hapijencd  to  fifteen  of  its  crew,  and  we  thought  we 
were  reasonino;  logically  in  supposing  that  it  was  not  really 
a  dcsistance  from  the  mission  of  rescue  tliat  had  undoubtedly 
Lrought  it  there.  We  were  ignorant  of  its  nationality  (we 
supposed  it  to  lie  Spanish).  Even  if  we  had  known,  and  had 
iK'cai  aware  of  its  misfortune  in  carrying  out  its  enterprise,  its 
return  would  haw  appeared  to  us  certain,  if  for  nothing  more 
than  the  honor  of  revenge. 

That  saiuo  evening,  April  13th,  they  hoisted  in  the  enemy's 
trenclies  the  Xortli  American  banner  (taken,  evidently,  from 
ihi-  Yorl'tovn's  men,  but  then  something  inex]jlicable  to  us), 
aiul  sent  to  u-  a  certain  person,  in  sailor's  uniform,  who,  on 
ap})roaching.  asked  if  there  was  anyone  among  us  who  could 
speak  French. 

As  soon  as  tlie  soldiers  saw  him,  they  began  to  declare 
that  it  was  C'aptain  Olmedo.  He  appeared  to  me  to  l)o  the 
sa:ue:  and  he.  observing  that  he  had  been  taken  for  Olmedo 
(prol)ably  he  had  known  him),  pretended  to  inform  us,  speak- 
ing gibberish,  that  the  captain  of  the  American  ship,  anchored 
in  the  roails,  placed  the  vessel  at  our  disposal  to  take  us  to 
Sjiaiii.  iu  view  of  the  fact  that  peace  between  the  two  coun- 
tries had  b'een  signed.  I  answered  him  that  it  was  very  well, 
and  that  he  could  withdraw;  which  did  not  have  to  be  re- 
peated, he  showing  by  his  speed  that  he  ttnderstood  our  lan- 
guage perfectly. 

From  that  day  it  was  truly  a  rosary  of  flags  of  truce  from 
those  trenches.  We  refused  to  receive  them,  threatening  them 
with  our  fii-e:  while  they,  placing  themselves  under  eO\er,  crie  ' 
out  tliat  we  ought  to  receive  the  letter  they  were  presenting, 
and  that  it  was  our  liberty,  '"our  liberty  which  the  town  of 
Baler  was  offering  us." 

One  afternoon,   finally,   thev  sent   out   to  us  a   small  boy, 


UxDER  THE   Red   axd   Gold.  99 

who  might  have  been  six  years  old.  Once,  twice,  three  times 
he  came  out  with  tliat  letter  in  one  hand  and  a  white  flag  in 
the  other.  We  made  him  go  back,  and  as  ho  again  tried  to 
approach  one  of  the  best  sbots  in  the  Detachment  said  to  me, 
"Do  jou  wish  me  to  shoot  the  letter  out  of  his  hand?"  "Yes," 
I  said;  "but  take  care  not  to  wound  him."  '•J)on"t  be  alarmed," 
he  replied.  He  fired,  and  the  letter  flew  through  the  air  as 
thougb  impelled  by  magic  art.  The  youngster  disappeared 
screaming,  and  the  incident  put  an  end,  serving  as  a  cross,  to 
the  rosary. 

It  may  be  imagined  that  we  now  too!<  account  of  time, 
and  how  we  went  on  counting  the  hours  siuL-e  the  incident  of 
the  Yorl'toivn;  the  waiting  and  watching;  the  insupi)ortable 
excitement  that  dominated  us.  When  the  days  passed  and, 
even  making  allow'ance  for  every  sort  of  olistacle,  tbere  were 
already  more  than  enough  for,  not  only  the  voyage  to  the  cap- 
ital of  the  Archipelago  and  return,  but  for  the  circumnaviga- 
tion of  the  Island,  I  found  myself  under  the  necessity  of  forc- 
ing the  machine  once  more,  inventing  new  reasons  tliat  might 
afford  an  explanation  for  the  delay.  There  was  nothing  else 
to  do.  I  must  be  the  first  to  be  reanimated  and  I  was  the  one 
to  again  comfort  my  soldiers.  I  exercised  my  imagination  in 
finding  or  inventing  some  pretext,  one  whicli  would  prolong  tlv^ 
hope  on  which  we  were  living,  whicli  would  appear  to  be  gen- 
uine, and  which,  in  tranquilizing  my  men,  would  also  satisfy 
me  and  animate  mo  as  well. 

Here  is  the  argument  with  whicli,  for  this  once,  God  in- 
spired me,  and  by  moans  of  whicli  I  succeeded  in  getting  over 
the  difficulty:  "Look,"  I  said,  "in  the  struggle  that  we  are 
sustaining  against  the  United  States  it  is  no  doubt  true  that 
we  are  gaining  the  upper  hand;  if  not,  where  would  we  be? 
what  would  have  become  of  us  by  this  time?     But  this  strug- 


100  Under  the   Red   and   Gold, 

gle  must  be  a  severe  one,  long  sustained,  because  it  is  with  a 
most  powerful  nation;  and,  since  there  are  in  the  Philippines 
not  enough  forces  to  spare  any  for  our  rescue,  since  they  will 
liave  enough  to  do  in  confronting  the  Americans  and  Tagalogs. 
it  is  evident  that  we  must  wait  until  reinforcements  arrive 
fi'om  the  Peninsula.  They  must  bo  already  on  the  way.  Lot 
us  wait,  therefore,  and  let  us  fulfill  our  duty  where  Fate  has 
placed  us.  To  surrender  now,  when  we  have  plainly  seen  that 
they  have  not  forgotten  us,  would  be  to  blot  out  at  one  stroke 
tlie  montbs  of  meritorious  deeds  and  the  hardships  that  w^ 
have  borne." 

Meanwhile  an  attempt  had  been  made  to  give  us  a  neat 
toasting.  On  the  night  of  iVpril  20th  the  sentry  in  the  sacristy 
fired  a  shot.  I  ran  to  find  out  what  was  going  on.  The  sentry 
informed  me  that  he  had  shot  at  something  which  was  ap- 
proaching, and  which,  to  judge  from  its  size,  appeared  too  big 
for  a  dog,  and  which  he  thought  must  be  a  small  carabao.  He 
thought  it  must  have  been  wounded  and  that  it  remained  in 
the  same  place  it  was  when  he  fired  at  it,  because  from  time 
to  time  he  could  see  the  grass  moving. 

A  little  later  the  sentry  at  tbe  window  to  the  left  of  the 
altar  warned  me  that  under  the  window  and  next  to  the  wall 
he  thought  he  heard  some  men,  Ijecause  ho  heard  the  empty 
tins  rattling.  It  is  proper  to  ex])lain  that  we  had  scattered 
around  the  building  a  considerable  number  of  onqity  cans,  in 
order  that  we  might  have,  by  this  uieans,  some  warning  of  the 
proximity  of  the  enemy. 

"Are  you  sure,"  I  said,  "that  they  are  not  snails,  as  on 
other  nights?"  (There  are  a  great  many  snails  in  that  re- 
gion.) "Xo,  sir,"  he  answered;  "the  snails  go  on  moving  even 
though  the  tins  rattle,  but  those  that  are  moving  now  stop 
when  they  make  a  noise,  and  it  is  evident  that  they  are  trying 


Under  the  Red  and   Gold.  101 

to  avoid  the  tins.  I  am  sure  that  they  are  men  and  that  there 
are  several  next  to  the  walL" 

From  the  sacristy  we  could  make  out  with  certainty  that 
there  were  men  under  the  window  of  the  altar;  but  they  could 
not  be  attacked  from  any  direction,  because  on  one  side  the 
corner  did  not  permit,  and  on  the  other  there  was  a  dead  ano^lo. 
There  was  therefore  no  means  of  flanking  them  and  the  dan- 
ger was  increasing,  with  the  enemy  evidently  assembling  at  the 
threatened  point. 

My  men  were  getting  uneasy  and  we  were  about  to  run 
the  dangerous  risk  of  a  sally,  when  Vigil,  in  a  moment  of  in- 
spiration, seized  a  revolver  and,  thrusting  his  arm  through 
the  altar  window,  at  the  risk  of  having  them  loj)  it  off  for 
him,  commenced  to  fire  straight  down  upon  the  men  assem- 
bled there.  They  fled  in  terror.  As  they  exposed  themselves 
we  began  firing  on  them  from  the  sacristy  window,  and  forced 
them  to  withdraw  completely. 

This  impulsive  act,  born  of  despair  and  heroism,  might 
have  been  costly  for  our  companion,  since  the  window  was 
very  low;  but  to  him  we  owed  our  salvation  that  night. 

The  following  day,  when  we  proceeded  to  reconnoiter  the 
place,  we  found  plain  indications  that  several  persons  had  been 
there  crawling  along  the  ground.  We  also  found  two  fascines 
that  they  had  already  placed  on  the  parapet  of  the  sacristy, 
twelve  others  near  by,  and  some  hea\'y  sticks,  like  canes,  each 
marked  at  one  end,  the  utility  of  which  we  were  unable  to  ex- 
plain to  ourselves.  All  this  we  appropriated,  getting  it  into 
the  church  as  best  we  could.  It  is  certain  that,  since  we  were 
getting  short  of  combustibles,  this  wood  came  in  very  handy 
in  cooking  our  wretched  food. 

The  importunately  urged  series  of  parleys  in  which  I  had 
been  engaged  just  before  and  this  late  unlooked-for  attempt 


102  UxDER  THE   Red   axd   Gold. 

led  me  to  believe  that  our  liberation  could  not  appear  to  our 
adversaries  a  very  difficult  matter,  when  tliey  were  in  such  a 
hurry  to  bring  about  our  surrender.  T]i(>  su])])osition  was  not 
"without  foundation,  and  it  induced  me  to  persevere  in  the  de- 
fense. But  the  struggle  was,  unfortunately,  already  reaching 
beyond  the  limit  tliat  could  he  sustained  by  human  will;  and 
if  relief  did  not  come  very  soon,  I  saw  no  end  to  the  affair 
but  death. 

On  the  24th  the  beans  and  coffee  gave  out.  I  mean  the 
last  remains  of  them.  There  was  now  nothing  left  to  eat  bin 
a  few  handfuls  of  rice  flour,  the  dust  of  the  palay  we  had 
hulled,  and  a  few  dozen  tins  of  sardines,  problematically  ed- 
ible. Our  food,  besides  being  scant,  was  now  reduced  to  '^ 
kind  of  poultice  of  pumpkin  leaves  mixed  with  sardines  and 
a  little  rice;  but  we  had  to  reduce  even  these  articles.  Those 
same  men  who  at  first  would  not  eat  the  leaves  because,  as  they 
said,  they  lay  like  a  lump  in  the  stomach,  soon  had  to  be  re- 
strained to  prevent  tliera  from  going  out  to  the  trenches  and 
devouring  those  leaves  raw,  sprouts  and  all,  without  waiting  for 
them  to  grow. 

For  the  mornings  we  had  in  place  of  coffee  a  decoction 
of  orange  leaves,  which  we  gathered  from  the  trees  that  were 
in  front  of  the  church.  So  great  was  our  hunger,  in  fact,  that 
if  a  dog  came  within  our  reach,  a  dog  was  eaten;  if  a  cat,  a 
cat;  if  reptiles,  reptiles;  if  crows,  crows.  A  certain  kind  of 
snail  was  abundant.  The  natives  loathed  them,  but  it  was 
soon  apparent  that  they  were  disappearing.  All  around  the 
church  there  was  an  abundance  of  leafy  shrubbery,  and  it  was 
all  stripped,  the  men  not  being  deterred  by  the  risk,  not  i!m- 
probable,  of  eating  some  poisonous   plant. 

And  the  sea,  as  the  days  passed,  remained  relentlessly 
desolate. 


Under  the  Eed  and   Gold.  103 

VI. 

TO  THE  27TII  OF  MAY. 
"iSqitad  of  sh.arpshooters. — Artillerymen  as  targets, — An 

EXTRAORDINARY     SHOT. TRAITORS     WOUNDED.  —  OnE     ]■  S- 

CAPES. — In  the  stocks.  —  Insults  at  long  range.  —  A 

CANNON-SHOT.  —  MeRCIFUL     COUNSELS.  —  If     THE     TOWER 

should  fall. — Improvised  stairways.— The  flag  still 

WAVES. 

In  the  preceding  chapter  I  have  told  of  a  most  remarkable 
shot  made  by  one  of  the  soldiers,  which  knocked  from  the  hand 
of  a  little  boy  a  letter  which  he  was  insisting  upon  delivering 
to  us.  The  skill  shown  was  indeed  a  thing  to  be  marveled  at, 
but  it  has  its  explanation.  The  necessity,  and  for  such  a  long 
time,  for  keeping  close  watch  on  the  enem\-,  the  desire  for 
a  good  target,  the  eagerness  to  "make  a  killing"  which  spurred 
us  constantlv,  and  the  deliberation  enjoined  in  firing,  had  re- 
sulted in  making  some  of  my  men  excellent  sharpshooters,  and 
to  their  skill  we  owed,  in  large  measure,  the  impotence  of  the 
enemy's  artillery. 

Eight  of  the  best  of  them  performed  no  night  duties,  1;!!^ 
as  soon  as  it  began  to  grow  light,  would  station  themselves  in 
pairs,  one  pair  in  the  tower,  the  others  lielow,  with  no  other 
orders  than  to  watch  the  batteries  closely.  The  besiegers  cov- 
ered the  guns  with  rush  mats.  In  order  to  intimidate  us,  they 
would  also  move  the  modern  gun,  already  referred  to,  from 
one  place  to  another. 

This  proceeding  was  not  without  cunning;  but,  as  their 
cannon  were  never  fired  simultaneously,  and  as  it  was  neces- 
sary, in  order  to  sight  the  guns,  to  raise  the  curtains,  we  soon 


104  Under  the  Eed  and   Gold. 

discovered  the  trick,  and  prompt!}-  succeeded  in  spreading 
panic  among  the  artillerists. 

We  afterwards  learned  that  the  panic  reached  such  a 
pitch  that  no  one  was  willing  to  undertake  this  service;  and 
the  fact  is,  that  only  by  preparing  their  shots  under  cover  of 
darkness  could  they  harm  us,  except  in  peculiar  and  rare  cases. 
Such,  indeed,  was  the  certainty  with  which  my  men  fired  that 
to  raise  the  curtain  and  to  at  once  roll  over  on  the  ground  was 
all  one  thing  for  anyone  attempting  to  approach  the  cannon. 

After  our  capitulation,  they  told  us  that  they  had  attrib- 
uted this  precision  in  firing  to  the  fact  that  we  must  have  fas- 
tened our  rifles  to  the  loopholes!  Beati  pauperes  spiritu,  as 
the  Scripture  mercifully  says. 

Among  the  men  wounded,  all  but  slightly,  during  these 
days  I  recall  only  one,  Pedro  Planas  Basagehas,  who  was  hit 
for  the  second  time.  But  on  the  7th  of  May  we  had  to  lament 
one  gravely  wounded,  Salvator  Santa  Maria  Aparicio,  who 
j>assed  away  in  a  few  days  and  whose  loss  produced  on  us  not 
only  grief,  since  he  was  a  good  soldier,  but  also  wonder  on  ac- 
count of  the  provoking  way  in  which  the  shot  happened  un- 
luckily to  produce  it. 

This  boy  was  at  the  window  of  the  choir  which  overlooked 
the  corral,  and  the  bullet  entered  through  another  window  to 
the  right  and  below.  Glancing  from  the  wall  and  tracing  an 
acute  angle,  it  hit  him  in  the  side,  touching  the  medulla.  It 
may  be  said  that  prejectilcs  seek  their  intended  victims,  while 
they  appear  to  avoid  others,  whom  they  pass  by  in  their  peril- 
ous flight. 

The  enemy  now  settled  down  to  a  daily  fight,  their  firing 
beginning  very  early  in  the  morning  and  at  the  sound  of  the 
trumpet,  as  though  it  were  a  matter  of  stated  fatisfue  duty. 
They  wished,  apparently,  to  keep  us  constantly  in  a  state  of 


Under  the  Red  axd   Gold.  105 

anxiety;  to  waste  ammunition  in  the  hope  of  inflicting  on  us 
some  damage.  And  the  truth  is,  that,  in  spite  of  the  precau- 
tions adopted,  the  cramped  situation  in  which  it  kept  us  was 
very  trying. 

There  was  not  a  crevice,  a  crack,  or  a  hole  free  from  that 
annoying  fire,  constantly  and  patiently  sustained.  The  object, 
no  doubt,  was  to  prevent  my  sharpshooters  from  picking  olT 
their  artillerists;  and  for  this  reason,  finding  that  they  did  not 
succeed  in  their  purpose,  they  reached  the  conclusion  that  we 
must  have  our  rifles  aimed  and  fastened  to  the  walls.  Ap- 
parently it  had  not  occurred  to  their  warlike  imagination  that 
we  might  have  men  capable  of  watching  tranquilly  in  the  midst 
of  danger. 

Xor  was  it  any  small  danger  that  we  encountered  from 
one  of  their  shells  on  the  8th.  It  pierced  the  wall  of  the  bap- 
tistery, where,  prisoners  and  in  irons,  were  the  three  men  who 
had  planned  to  desert  to  the  enemy — Vicente  Gonzalez  Toca, 
Antonio  Menaclie  Sanchez,  and  the  miserable  Jose  Alcaide 
Bayona.  It  exploded  inside  and  the  three  men  were  wounded, 
though  not  seriously,  being  saved  from  certain  death  by  the 
rubbish  in   which  they  had  half  buried  themselves. 

As  the  baptistery  was  only  about  two  meters  wide  by  about 
two  and  a  half  in  length,  and  the  place  was  left  in  very  bad 
condition,  it  was  necessary  to  bring  the  men  out  in  the  church, 
in  the  center  of  which  beds  were  arranged  for  them,  and  their 
wounds  were  looked  after  as  Christianity  demanded.  I  di- 
rected that  they  should  remain  there  until  the  rubbish  could 
be  cleared  out  of  the  place  where  they  had  been  confined,  and 
the  hole  made  by  the  shell  stopped  up  as  well  as  might  be. 

The  effects  of  that  shell  might  have  been  fatal  to  us,  as 
we  shall  presently  see,  but  certainly  not  on  account  of  the 
damage  done  by  its  fragments. 


106  UxDER   THE   Red   and   Gold. 

After  the  men  had  heen  cared  for.  they  appeared  to  be 
completelv  exhausted;  whicli,  added  to  the  commiseration  that 
the  occurrence  coukl  not  hut  produce  in  us,  and  the  lal3or  of 
clearing  out  the  rubbish,  caused  us  to  be  somewhat  careless  in 
guarding  them.  The  distraftion  v.-as  brief,  a  matter  of  only 
a  few  minutes,  but  it  was  cnougli  to  enable  Alcaide  to  get  rid 
of  his  irons,  breaking  them  under  the  bed-covering.  Then, 
suddenly  jumping  througli  a  near-'oy  window  in  the  east  wall, 
he  ran  like  a  deer  toward  tlie  enemy's  trenches. 

The  sentry  who  was  at  tlie  door  in  the  south  wall  ran 
around  the  corner  and  ainu^d  two  sjiots  at  him.  but  did  not 
touch  him.  Another  sentry  also  fired  twice,  crying  out  at  the 
second  shot  that  he  had  killed  him,  liecause  he  saw  him  totter  as 
though  about  to  fall.  Part  of  the  men  started  in  pursuit  at 
a  run;  but  it  was  all  useless,  since,  gainiiig  the  trenches  of  the 
Insurredos,  who  increased  their  fii-e.  he  succeeded  in  saving 
himself,  while  mv  men  had  to  fall  back,  giving  way  before  the 
energy  of  the  attack. 

In  order  that  an  idea  niav  be  conceived  of  the  boldness 
and  temper  of  this  wretch,  whom  God  may  have  pardoned,  it 
is  enough  for  the  ])re.-ent  to  say  that  the  window  through 
which  he  sttcceeded  in  u'.riking  his  escape  reached  a  total  heigbt 
of  three  meters  and  twenly-fivc  centimeters;  and  that  if  the 
inside  platform,  which  was  one  and  a  half  meters  high,  served 
him  as  a  kind  of  sti]'.  be  had  to  attem.pt  the  jtimp  to  tl^" 
outside  Avhen  wound^'d,  a  short  time  after  l)eing  apparent b- 
stretched  out  at  tbc  point  of  death,  and  when,  besides  being 
weakened  a-  he  was  by  the  ])oor  quality  of  the  rations,  his  legs 
must  have  been  bruised  and  swollen  by  the  irons  from  which 
he  had  just  freed  himself. 

To  prevent  his  companions  from  attempting  to  imitate 
him,  we  proceeded  to  construct  a  kind  of  stocks,  in  which  we 


UxDER  THE  Red  and   Gold.  107 

fastened  them,  each  by  one  foot.  Our  doinf^  this  was  indeed 
timely,  since,  on  examination,  we  saw  that  they  also  had  loos- 
ened their  irons. 


On  the  9th  another  cannon-shot  broke  throufrh  at  a  cer- 
tain point,  where  we  had  contrived  a  sort  of  cui)board,  whicli 
served  as  a  place  for  storacre  of  records.  The  projectile  broke 
three  beams  of  the  floor  of  the  choir,  and  in  exi)l()dino-  smashed 
the  chorister's  desk  to  pieces  and  wounded  and  l)ruised  several 
soldiers,  among  whoni  I  recall  Pedro  Allla  Gargante  and  Fran- 
cisco Eeal  Ynste. 

After  the  capitulation,  Alcaide  l)oasted  of  being  the  one 
who  fired  the  shot,  profiting  thus  by  the  instruction  he  had 
received  in  the  artillery  arm,  in  which  he  liad  formerly  served. 
We  also  learned  that  he  had  told  the  Insiirrcclo  chief  how  we 
were  suffering  from  scarcity  of  subsistence,  informing  him  in 
detail  of  the  misery  which  alone  was  left  to  us  and  of  our  firm 
purpose  to  take  refuge  in  tlie  forest,  ratbei"  than  surrender, 
when  we  had   reached   a   ])oint   v.here   nothing  more   remained. 

The  fact  thai  this  man  could  know  all  tlies'"  details,  shut 
up  as  he  had  been  in  the  baptistery  those  two  buig  months, 
convinced  me  that  some  other  Judas  was  lve(^])ing  the  enemy 
well  informed  of  all  that  was  going  on  in  tlu,^  Detachment. 
Fortunately,  I  1  ecame  aware  of  all  this  when  it  was  no  time 
to  make  disagreeable  inquiries;  when  everything  had  been  re- 
deemed bv  the  visible  d'-eds  that  had  crowned  our  effoi'ts :  wjien 
I  cotild,  without  danger,  avoid  the  knowledge  as  to  who  it 
might  be.  But  it  proved  to  me  once  more  the  uncertainty  of 
the  ground  that  sustained  me  in  the  defense,  and  how  nmcli  I 
owed  to  God  and  to  the  loyalty  of  the  majority  of  my  people. 

The  fact  that  Alcaide  had  betrayed  mv  resolution  to  take 
to  the  forest  did  not  surprise  me  when  1  learned  it  after  the 


108  Under  the  Eed   and   Gold. 

capiiiilalion,  as  I  have  already  said.  I  could  not  but  know 
that  he  had  betrayed  me,  because  from  the  night  following  hi« 
escape  those  trenches,  instead  of  remaining  silent,  were  con- 
verted into  a  pulpit  from  which  from  time  to  time  they 
preached  io  us  that  we  ought  not  to  attempt  such  a  rash  thing; 
that  we  should  ask  for  a  parley;  that  their  Lieutenant-Colonel 
desired  to  talk  to  me;  and  that  he  would  accept  such  terms  as 
I  might  ask. 

At  other  times,  and  always  insisting  that  it  was  madness 
for  us  to  thiidc  of  taking  refuge  in  the  forest,  they  told  us  that 
we  had  again  become  one  in  order  to  fight  the  Americans,  who 
had  betrayed  them;  that  General  Rios  was  their  Secretary  of 
War;  that  we  ought  to  fraternize;  and  so  on  after  this  man- 
ner. 1  should  add  that  they  were  preaching  all  this  to  us  in 
Spanisli  and  arguing  Avith  convincing  reasons;  but  so  per- 
suaded were  we  of  their  tricks  and  lies  that  we  gave  it  all  no 
credit  whatever. 

As  something  more  worthy  of  attention  aijpeared  to  us 
the  threatened  destruction  of  the  tower.  A  couple  of  cannon- 
shots  had  broken  to  ])icces  three  of  its  f(  ur  bell-  and  dis- 
mounted the  fourtb,  with  the  shaking  crash  tliat  mav  1)(>  im- 
agined, and  a  small  breastwork  we  had  prepared  in  the  Itelfry 
bad  all  its  parapet  destroyed.  The  tower  was  all  made  of  wood, 
of  moderate  height,  and  it  is  needless  to  say  or  guess  bow  many 
shots  it  would  stand  or  why  its  foundations  were  shaken.  It 
was  only  l)y  the  use  of  props  that  we  were  able  to  sustain  it, 
and  tbesc  ])rops  did  not  now  give  any  assurance  of  its  safety; 
because,  at  tbe  first  giving  way  of  any  one  of  them  (an  easy 
thing,  considi'ring  tbe  directions  Alcaide  could  furnish  the  en- 
emy's gunnel's),  tbere  was  no  room  for  doubt  that  its  down- 
fall would  1)0  certain. 

This  would  be  dangerous  for  the  rest  of  the  building.    But, 


Under  the   Eed   axd    Gold.  109 

as  circumstances  did  not  warrant  extensive  calenlations,  since 
in  one  way  or  another  our  stay  in  the  church  must  be  a  mat- 
ter of  only  a  few  days,  and  since  the  most  important  thing  for 
us  was  to  utilize  the  command  of  the  helfry  for  vigilance,  we 
made  effort  particularly  to  re-establish  its  defensive  condition 
by  placing  a  large  box  filled  with  earth  to  strengthen  its  shat- 
tered parapet.  This  had  to  be  done  under  cover  of  darkness, 
and  with  care  at  the  same  time  to  do  so  without  the  enemy's 
discovering  the  operation. 

To  this  end,  I  ordered  a  noise  to  be  made  as  though  we 
were  enjoying  a  fiesta,  and  the  sentry  in  the  choir  to  sing  as 
though  he  were  joining  in  the  merriment;  the  latter  in  order 
to  direct  attention  to  the  choir  end  of  the  church.  The  box 
was  put  in  place  without  molestation,  and  we  were  congratulat- 
ing ourselves  on  our  cunning,  when,  on  the  following  day,  we 
discovered  that,  naturally,  neither  had  the  enemy  been  wastino- 
their  time. 

They  had,  in  fact,  profited,  as  we  had  profited,  l)v  tlin 
darkness  of  the  night  and  the  noise,  and  had  constructed  two 
trenches  at  only  about  twenty  paces  from  the  corral.  The  worst 
of  it  was  that  one  of  the  trenches,  the  one  at  the  right,  com- 
manded the  stairway  of  the  tower,  whicli  had  been  uncovered 
when  we  tore  down  the  convent. 

Imitating,  after  a  fashion,  the  expedient  adopted  hy  the 
defenders  of  Sevastopol,  I  directed  some  bcflding  to  Ije  fas- 
tened up  in  order  to  conceal  the  opening.  But  even  then  we 
could  relieve  the  sentinels  only  at  night,  on  account  of  the 
continual  firing  that  rained  upon  the  screen.  It  haopcned 
more  than  once  that  a  cannon-shot  broke  down  our  stairway 
and  we  had  to  improvise  others,  making  use  of  some  long  and 
stout  bamboos  that  we  had  carried  away  from  the  Tagalogs, 
who  had  used  them  for  reveting  their  approaches. 


110  UxDEK   THE   Red   and   Gold. 

On  the  19tli  of  May  died,  of  d3-senterv,  Private  Marcos 
Jose  Petana,  another  of  the  martyrs  whose  remains  should 
sanctify  those  few  handhrcadths  of  soil  so  earnestly,  so  furi- 
ously contested.  Bearing  in  mind  the  means  of  subsistence 
we  had,  and  the  want  of  salt,  from  which  we  suffered  during 
the  siege,  the  truth  is  that  it  seems  miraculous  (laugh  if  you 
will)   that  we  did  not  all  die  of  the  same  disease. 

The  weather,  the  enemy's  bullets,  and  the  hurricane  had 
badly  torn  the  flag  which  was  always  flying  at  the  top  of  the 
tower.  To  put  it  in  good  condition  was  one  of  our  greatest 
desires,  which  some  might  perhaps  call  Quixotic;  but  to  do  so 
I  had  to  sharpen  my  ingenuity.  Fortunately,  the  cassock? 
that  had  been  used  by  the  acolytes  of  the  church  and  some  of 
the  curtains  that  had  been  used  to  cover  the  images  were  red. 
I  had  a  yellow  moscjuito  bar.  All  this  served  perfectly  in  mak- 
ing the  substitute.  And  one  night,  when  we  thought  the  time 
had  come  to  renew  it,  we  went  up  into  the  tower,  and  with 
real  enthusiasm  (God  knows,  indeed,  tliat  1  say  it  without 
boasting)  we  changed  that  venerable  banner,  which,  on  the 
next  day,  waved  still  more  proudly,  ap])earing  to  challenge  the 
besiegers  and  at  the  same  time  to  bless  us. 

Certain  it  is  that  we  did  not  add  thus  a  handful  of  rice 
to  our  stores,  nor  one  cartridge  more  to  our  ammunition;  but 
it  is  no  less  certain  that  the  change  warmed  ti])  our  spirits, 
and  that  the  sight  of  that  venerable  banner  waving  over  us 
under  the  vault  of  heaven  inspired  us  with  the  thought  that 
all  Spain  was  regarding  us  and  was  encouraging  us  with 
tlie  ])romise  of  its  gratitude,  if  we  should  do  our  duty  as  good 
men.  I  say  it  so  seemed  to  us.  because  I  remember  the  feeling 
for  mys.df,  and  it  shone  in  the  eyes,  filled  at  times,  of  those 
men   who  were   dvinti"  under  mv  orders. 


Under  the  Red  and   Gold.  Ill 

VIL 

THE  EXD  OF  MAY. 

Plan  for  a  sally. — ^Xigiit  labors. — Utility  of  hot  water. 
— Eighteen  dead.  —  A  parli^y.  —  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Aguilar.  —  Xatur.\^l  mistrust. — ^Steamer  or  LIGHTEI!  ? 
— Taking  a  siesta. — Let  tiie:m  withdraw. 

In  eagerly  watcliing  the  lonely  ocean  we  passed  the  hours 
of  that  bitter  period  when  we  felt  all  hope  leaving  us  like  the 
mists  of  the  morning.  Each  twilight  carried  away  with  it 
something  of  our  vigor  and  spirit.  Each  night  left  us  more 
gloomy.  The  steamer  did  not  appear,  and  the  situation  was 
critical.  We  saw  that  the  end  was  already  at  hand,  an  end 
as  sad  as  it  was  inevitable,  and  in  vain  we  tried  to  put  it  otf: 
everything  had  its  limit,  and  our  strength  was  fast  giving  out. 

When  the  crisis  should  come,  therefore,  there  would  not 
be  a  single  moment  to  lose.  If  the  longed-for  slii])  should  a]j- 
pear,  we  would  have  to  hazard,  on  the  spot,  everything  on  one 
play;  to  reach  the  ship  or  die,  and  this,  I  repeat,  without  any 
delay.  Otherwise  there  remained  no  course  but  to  take  to  the 
forest,  to  go  there  or  surrender. 

On  the  28tli,  it  might  have  been  aliout  eleven  o'clock  at 
night,  the  corporal  of  the  relief  warned  me  that  people  were 
heard  moving  about  the  corral. 

I  ordered  the  troops  to  get  up  and  place  themselves,  very 
silently,  at  the  loopholes.  When  all  were  at  their  posts,  I  went 
to  the  top  of  the  wall  overlooking  the  place  pointed  out  and 
tried  to  see  if  anyone  were  there. 

There  was  nothing  to  be  seen,  but  the  sound  was  unmis- 
takable, as  though  they  were  scraping  a  wall;   and   1   figured 


112  UxDER  THE  Red  axd   Gold. 

it  out  that  someone  must  be  hidden  behind  the  wall  that  di- 
vided the  corral  into  two  parts,  or  else,  from  the  outside  and 
very  close  to  the  wall,  they  were  trying  to  pierce  it. 

I  continued  to  listen  until,  after  some  time,  evervthinff 
was  silent.  The  clearness  and  stillness  of  the  ni^rht  left  no 
room  for  any  idea  that  I  might  ha\'e  been  mistaken.  But  I  could 
not  make  out  whether  or  not  the  wall  had  actually  been  pierced. 
Supposing  the  worst  (that  is,  that  they  had  made  holes  in  or- 
der to  command  the  place  where  we  had  dug  the  well),  I  or- 
dered those  not  on  guard  to  retire  to  rest,  and  that  the  guard 
should  warn  me  of  the  slightest  suspicious  occurrence.  I  pos- 
itively prohibited  anyone  from  going  into  the  corral  in  the 
morning  until  I,  as  I  did  daily,  had  made  a  careful  examina- 
tion all  arotmd  the  church. 

\Yhilo  the  niglits  were  all  bad,  that  night  was  one  of  the 
most  agonizing  of  the  wliole  siege.  I  had  the  conviction  that 
if,  in  a  very  few  days,  we  sliould  receive  no  help,  we  were  lost. 
The  desperate  recourse  of  taking  to  the  forest  offered  me  no 
other  attraction  than  a  tragic  cliange  in  the  climax  of  that 
drama.  I  was,  in  fact,  almost  fixed  in  the  idea  that  all  was 
lost  for  tis,  and  this  was  almost  reduced  to  that  vague  hope 
that  comforts  the  dying  in  his  last  agonies. 

We  wished  to  end  it  once  for  all ;  and  yet  that  dread  of 
being  annihilatt'd  by  force  of  numbers,  under  the  feet  of  otir 
odious  enemies,  hearing  the  insults  of  our  vile  deserters,  was 
a  thing  that  hammered,  so  to  speak,  my  brain,  froze  my  blood, 
and  deprived  me  of  tlie  serenity  that  I  so  greatly  needed  in 
those  diflicult  circttmstances. 

It  was  hardlv  liglit  l)efore  I  could  see  the  certainty  of  mv 
conjectures  of  the  niglit.  A  window  that  we  had  closed  in 
the  west  wall  of  the  corral  had  been  com]jletely  loopholed,  and, 
besides,  they  had  torn  away  our  urinal  in  order  to  fire  at  us 


Under  the  Red   and   Gold.  113 

from  the  breach  thus  made.  Their  purpose  was,  as  I  had 
feared,  to  prevent  us  from  approaching  the  well,  so  that  thirst 
would  compel  our  surrender. 

Well  had  the}^  been  instructed  by  the  disclosures  of  the 
m.iserable  Alcaide  Bayona.  And  yet  we  could  congratulate 
ourselves  that  our  foresight  had  prevented  something  still 
more  serious — their  rendering  the  well  of  no  use.  Fortunately, 
we  had  closed  it  in  and  covered  it  with  a  trap-door,  upon  vrliich 
we  had  put  some  empty  tins,  so  that  a  noise  would  l)e  made  if 
anyone  should  attempt  to  interfere  with  the  well.  Stationed 
opposite  was  the  sentry  in  the  choir,  with  positive  orders  to 
tire  in  case  he  should  hear  anything  suspicious.  They  must 
have  known  this,  and  therefore  did  not  dare  attempt  any- 
thing more. 

When  it  was  broad  daylight,  their  trumpets  sounded  the 
"attention"  and  our  counter-signal,  and  one  of  them  yelled 
"Oranges!"  We  saw  that  they  were  preparing  for  a  fight. 
Supposing  that  we  could  not  draw  "water  for  cooking  the  orange 
leaves  which  we  had  substituted  for  coffee,  they  had  called  out 
to  us  as  they  did. 

1  immediately  ordered  the  best  shots  to  occupy  the  trenches 
that  were  on  that  side,  so  that  those  ot  the  enemy  who  were 
under  the  shelter  of  the  wall  would  be  well  looked  after  if  they 
tried  to  get  away.  I  posted  others  at  the  wall  which  divided 
the  corral,  in  order  to  neutralize  the  enemy's  command  of  the 
interior;  and  I  rushed  out  with  some  soldiers  with  sho\els  and 
other  tools  to  close  up  the  openings. 

I  succeeded  in  this;  and  while  those  without  were  trying 
to  pierce  the  wall  again,  I  ordered  water  to  be  heated  in  some 
iron  pots  that  we  had,  as  large  as  cauldrons.  When  we  got  it 
boiling,  w^e  fastened  to  the  end  of  a  stick  one  of  the  tins  that 
had  contained  Australian  beef,  and  used  this  to  pour  the  boil- 
ing water  on  the  men  on  the  other  side  of  the  wall. 


114  Under  the  Red   and   Gold. 

The  result  could  not  have  been  more  satisfactory;  and, 
although  it  seems  unbecoming  to  the  sentiments  of  humanity, 
^\•hic•ll  are  always  beclouded  in  such  situations  as  the  one  we 
were  in,  1  must  add  that  the  sensation  felt  by  us  could  not 
have  been  more  pleasing. 

As  the  adversaries  were  almost  naked,  they  must  have  felt 
their  flesh  cooking  when  the  water  fell  on  them,  and  their  rat- 
like squeaks  greatly  excited  our  mirth.  They  ran  from  side  to 
side,  but  always  sticking  close  to  the  wall,  trying  to  keep  out 
of  our  fire,  wliile  we  on  our  side  followed  them  up,  prescribing 
for  them  our  seasonable  showers  of  bullets.  They  cried  out 
that  we  were  trying  to  scald  them,  like  chickens  (manog  in 
Tagalog),  while  we  jokingly  asked  them  if  tliey  found  llie 
coffee  too  liot.  xVt  the  same  time,  from  the  l)ench  inside  \\\o 
wall,  we  ])iirsued  them  with  revolver-shots. 

One  man,  wounded  in  the  thigh,  began  to  shriek  loudly, 
and,  feigning  a  kindly  interest,  we  asked  him  if  he  was  hurt. 
It  was  a  moment  not  to  be  forgotten,  in  which  des]jeration  gave 
us  courage  and  tlie  damage  we  caused  acted  as  a  tonic  in  our 
afflictions. 

Xot  being  a' tie  longer  to  do  anything  for  themselves,  they 
begged  those  in  the  nearest  trenches  to  fire,  in  order  to  cover 
their  retreat.  On  hearing  this,  I  sent  word  to  jny  sharpshoot- 
ers that  they  ]iiust  see  to  it  that  none  should  be  allowed  to 
escape.  The  result  was  completely  satisfactory  to  us,  since 
only  two  were  anle  to  rejoin  their  comrades,  who  had  their 
trench,  as  1  have  said,  only  about  twenty  paces  from  tlie  church. 

J^^ightcen  were  left  dead,  as  llieir  companions  aftei'wards 
told  us;  and  as  this  victory  was  the  last  of  the  feats  of  arms 
that  the  siege  afforded,  it  may  well  l^e  claimed  that  we  closed 
it  worthily. 

1  shall  now  tell  the  story  of  the  last  but  one  of  the  ]n\v- 


Under  the  Eed  and   Gold.  115 

leys  we  held.  In  all  the  former  ones  they  had  offered  us  an 
honorable  withdrawal,  but  we  had  rejected  them  all  in  spite 
of  the  misery  in  which  we  were  living;  but  in  this  one  the 
measure  had  become  filled  to  the  brim. 

A  chief  of  the  Army  who,  so  they  told  us,  brought  docu- 
ments in  proof  of  his  personality  and  authority,  guaranteed 
us  a  safe  departure  and  a  comfortable  journey  to  the  capital 
of  the  Archipelago.  Xothing  more  could  be  asked;  and  our 
situation  had  reached  a  most  lamentaljle  extreme. 

But  wliy  did  we  not  agree  to  it?  It  would  be  somewhat 
difficult  for  mo  to  explain;  principally,  1  believe,  through  mis- 
trust and  obstinacy,  then  also  on  account  of  a  certain  kind  of 
auto-suggestion  that  had  grown  up  in  us  l)y  force  of  thinking 
day  after  day  and  month  after  month  that  we  ought  not  on 
any  accouiit  to  surrender;  in  a  certain  sense,  l>ecause  of  the 
intoxication  of  national  entliusiasm;  without  doulit  influenced 
by  the  attractive  illusion  of  glory;  much  on  account  of  self- 
love;  and  certainly,  as  I  have  observed  at  one  time  and  an- 
other, on  account  of  the  sufferings  we  had  undergone,  on  ac- 
count of  that  treasury  of  sacrifice  and  heroism  which  in  our 
own  eyes  exalted  us,  and  which,  in  some  way,  without  our  be- 
ing conscious  of  so  exalted  a  sentiment,  by  instinct,  no  more, 
made  us  feel  that  wo  would  be  putting  an  unworthy  end  to 
it  all. 

An  hour,  more  or  less,  liaving  passed  since  the  fight  was 
over,  the  sounding  of  the  "'^attention"  assailed  our  ears,  and 
we  saw  that  they  were  displaying  the  Spanish  flag.  As  it  had 
never  occurred  to  tbem  before  to  raise  it,  I  imagined  it  was 
simply  another  artifice  to  entertain  us,  so  that  they  could  car- 
ry away  their  dead  that  had  been  left  near  the  walls  of  the 
corral.  But,  as  it  suited  us  for  them  to  do  this,  and  as  the 
incident  excited  my  curiosity,  I  cried  out  to  them  that  I  would 


116  Under  the  Red   axd   Gold. 

accept  a  conference  provided  that  only  one  came  for\rard  with 
the  flag.  They  indicated  that  they  agreed,  and  a  '^entleman 
advanced  dressed  in  the  uniform  of  a  lieutenant-colonel  of  the 
General  Staff.  He  said  that  he  was  Don  Cristobal  Aguilar  y 
Castaiieda,  commissioned  by  General  Don  Diego  de  los  Eio^ 
to  bring  in  the  Detachment. 

The  long  period  during  which  we  had  been  cut  off  from 
communication  must  be  borne  in  mind;  the  tricks  and  artifices 
by  which  they  had  tried  to  entrap  us;  and,  in  particular,  those 
recent  speeches  they  had  shouted  at  us  during  the  night,  affirm- 
ino:  that  Eios  was  their  Minister  of  War.  It  must  all  l)e  l)orno 
in  mind,  because  it  all  justified  my  natural  mistrust  on  this 
occasion. 

It  appeared  to  us  at  once  an  impossible  thing  that  a  Span- 
ish general  should  become  a  part  of  the  Itisurrecto  Govern- 
ment; but  we  were  ignorant  of  the  events  that  had  taken  place. 
The  coincidence  of  conferring  on  this  same  individual  the 
authority  to  withdraw  us  with  his  attempt  to  do  so  right  on 
the  heels  of  the  occurrences  of  the  morning  was  hardly  com- 
patible with  such  orders,  of  which  they  must  have  already  had 
knowledge  in  the  enemy's  camp  before  their  frustrated  attempt. 
I  believe,  therefore,  that  reasons  were  not  wanting  for  me  to 
doubt  the  emissary's  veracity,  doubts  that  could  not  but  in- 
crease my  suspicions  with  regard  to  the  proofs  and  documents 
which,  proceeding  from  that  General,  were  to  be  offered  to  mc 

They  had  before  told  us  also  that  their  Lieutenant-Colonel 
wished  to  speak  to  us;  and  this  was  enough  for  me,  on  seeing 
Sehor  Aguilar  with  his  two  gilt  straps,  to  take  him  for  that 
same  officer  decked  out  in  the  uniform  he  was  displaying. 

As  soon  as  we  began  to  talk  and  he  had  informed  me  of 
the  commission  he  bore^  he  asked  me  if  there  was  in  the  De- 
tachment any  soldier  who,  by  reason  of  having  been  in  Min- 


Under  the  Eed  and   Gold.  117 

danao,  could  recognize  him.  I  answered  in  the  negative,  and 
added  that  there  on  the  outside,  in  the  trenches  from  which  he 
had  come,  was  certainly  the  place  where  there  were  plenty  of 
his  personal  acquaintanc-es. 

"If,"  he  said,  "you  doubt  that  I  am  Lieutenant- Colonel 
Aguilar,  I  can  show  you  papers  that  identify  me."  And  he  drew 
out  a  large  envelope.  "It  is  not  necessary,"  I  replied,  "for  you 
to  trouble  yourself." 

He  kept  the  papers  and  continued,  saying  that  he  had  a 
steamer  at  his  disposal  (we  had  not  seen  any)  to  take  us  to 
Manila;  that  if  we  desired  to  see  it,  we  could  indicate  the  part 
of  the  sea  that  was  visible  from  the  tower,  so  that  he  could  or- 
der it  to  cruise  in  that  vicinity,  making  such  signals  as  would 
suit  us  in  order  to  convince  us. 

I  accepted  his  offer  that  they  would  make  it  sail  past  the 
Confites,  and  fire  a  couple  of  cannon-sJaots  toward  the  moun- 
tains; to  which  he  made  some  objection  about  alarming  thf- 
besiegers,  and  averred  that  the  vessel  carried  only  one  small 
gun.  "Yes,"  I  replied,  smiling;  "the  one  you  have  yonder" 
(pointing  to  the  one  the  enemy  had).     "Is  it  not  so?" 

After  a  few  more  words,  we  finally  agreed  that  the  steam- 
er should  show  herself  the  following  morning  where  I  had  in- 
dicated (near  the  Confites),  and  that  it  would  let  go  two 
cannon-shots. 

I  was  really  perplexed.  The  manner  and  language  of 
Seiior  Aguilar  showed  him  to  be  a  person  of  distinction.  The 
ease  with  which  he  wore  the  uniform  denoted  that  he  was  ac- 
customed to  it.  But  when,  even  considering  all  this,  I  consid- 
ered also  certain  other  details,  such  as  his  presenting  himself 
immediately  after  the  enemy's  repulse,  and  the  quiet  way  in 
which  those  same  people  who  had  not  allowed  the  disembarka- 
tion of  the  former  succoring  party  now  allowed  him  to  come 


118  Ukder  the  Red  axd   Gold. 

to  us,  I  could  not  but  hesitate,  in  the  confusion  of  my  vague 
suspicions. 

Recalling,  on  the  other  hand,  the  matter  of  General  Rios, 
it  all  appeared  to  explain  to  me  why  Aguilar  might  have  gone 
over  to  the  Tagalogs,  if  he  had  gone  over;  since  it  was  clear 
that  some  others  would  have  followed  Rios,  and  perhaps  Agui- 
lar might  have  been  one  of  them. 

In  order  to  satisfy  myself  as  to  whether  he  had  really  be- 
longed to  the  General  Staff,  judging  by  the  effect  that  a  ques- 
tion might  have  upon  him,  I  thought  of  asking  him,  when  I 
should  see  him  again,  if  it  was  no  longer  regulation  to  wear 
the  sash  tied  as  it  formerly  was;  but  I  refrained  from  the  ex- 
periment, through  fear  that  it  might  turn  out  futile  and  puerile. 

Being  of  the  opinion  that  the  whole  thiu'T  was  a  farce, 
and  assured  that  they  would  do  something  towards  carrying  it 
out,  I  cautioned  those  in  the  tower  to  notify  me  if  they  heard 
any  cannon-shot  or  saw  the  vessel. 

It  was  perhaps  about  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  tho 
oOth  when  the  first  report  sounded.  I  hurried  up  into  the 
tower,  provided  with  field-glasses,  and  had  no  more  than  ar- 
rived when  we  heard  the  second  one,  and  so  distinctly  that  we 
believed  it  came  from  the  beach. 

It  was  not  long  before  the  steamer  appeared.  It  pro- 
ceeded toward  the  locality  agreed  upon,  drawing  farther  and 
farther  away,  and,  apparently,  into  the  shore  waters.  It  tacked 
then  toward  the  coast,  and  very  soon  turned  again,  going  back 
over  the  course. 

Being  deceived  at  first  by  an  optical  illusion,  a  thing  easy 
to  understand  if  we  take  into  consideration  the  distance  that 
separated  us  from  the  sea  and  the  boscage  that  covered  this 
distance,  we  then  began  to  reflect  that  it  was  navigating  in 
water  where  it   was  hardly  deep  enough   to  reach   to   a   man's 


Under  the  Eed  and   Gold.  119 

waist.  We  had  bathed  there  many  times  and  those  places  were 
well  known  to  us.  This,  added  to  the  ease  with  which  it 
changed  its  course.,  caused  us  to  suspect  that  it  must  have  been 
propelled  by  native  hands ;  and^  in  the  obsession  that  dominated 
us,  we  concluded  certainly  that  all  this  was  a  comedy,  and  that 
the  alleged  steamer  was  nothing  but  a  lighter  theatrically 
dressed  up  and  rigged  for  the  purpose  of  mocking  us.  So  true 
was  this  that  some  of  the  soldiers  were  betting  that  the  funnel 
was  made  of  nipaj,  and  others  were  sure  that  they  could  see 
those  who  were  towing  the  contrivance. 

Twelve  o'clock  came,  and,  seeing  that  Seiior  Aguilar  had 
not  appeared,  T  said  to  my  companions:  "The  enemy  proposes 
that  we  shall  not  rest  during  the  sioita  hour,  so  that  we  shall 
be  overcome  by  sleep  at  night  and  they  will  be  able  to  surprise 
us.  You  will  see  that  this  Lieutenant-Colonel  will  not  come 
until  we  close  the  door."  (^Ye  closed  it  every  afternoon.)  I 
gave  orders  to  the  sentinels  that  if  he  should  appear,  they 
should  tell  him  to  come  back  at  half  past  three,  because  I  had 
gone  to  sleep.     So  it  was.     I  had  jnst  lain  down  when  he  came. 

They  informed  him  as  I  directed;  and,  although  he  in- 
sisted vehemently  that  they  should  call  me,  he  had  to  withdraw. 
But  at  three  o'clock  they  notified  me  that  he  was  already  in 
sight  again.  Ordering  the  Corporal  not  to  open  the  door,  I 
went  up  into  the  cboir  to  again  take  up  tlie  conference  from 
one  of  the  windows  in  the  same  manner  as  I  bad  done  the  even- 
ing before,  without  sticking  out  my  head. 

He  began  by  asking  me  if  we  had  seen  tbe  steamer.  "Yes, 
sir,''  I  replied;  "but  who  would  iinagine  that  we  could  go  in 
that  vessel,  having  to  take  with  us  the  quantity  of  subsistence 
stores  we  have  left,  the  ammunition,  the  artillery,  and  the 
large  amount  of  hospital  and  other  supplies  that  are  stored 
here," 


120  Undee  the  Red  and   Gold. 

"Man,  no/'  he  replied;  "it  does  not  have  to  be  taken 
away." 

"Then  what  shall  we  do  with  it?" 

"Deliver  it  to  this  family"   (the  besiegers). 

"Deliver  it  to  this  family !"  I  said  in  astonishment. 

"Yes,  man,  yes.  Are  yon  surprised?  Wliy,  if  you  had 
seen  what  we  gave  up  in  Zamboanga — " 

I  turned  to  the  soldiers  who  were  around  me  and  said  in 
a  low  tone :  "You  see^  it  is  the  same  old  song.  What  they  are 
after  is  our  arms." 

"Shall  I  kill  him,  my  Lieutenant?"  asked  one  of  the  men. 
examining  his  rifle. 

"By  no  means,"  I  hastened  to  say,  restraining  him;  "we 
may  refuse  to  receive  flags  of  truce,  but  we  cannot  com- 
mit assassination,  which,  besides,  might  entail  very  serious 
consequences." 

Seiior  Aguilar  continued,  trying  to  persuade  me  to  his 
wishes,  and  doing  so,  I  must  confess,  in  such  terms  that  1  could 
not  help  saying  to  my  hearers  as  soon  as  he  had  gone  away, 
"Jt  is  a  pity  that  a  man  like  that  should  have  gone  over  to 
the  Insurrectos." 

He  asked  me  if  I  Avould  allow  him  to  have  a  look  at  the 
church  (and  the  Detachment),  because  lie  had  seen  a  plioto- 
graph  of  it  in  Manila.  I  refused  this,  as  being  prohibited, 
and  he  agreed  with  me,  but  added  with  some  impatience  that 
our  obstinacy  was  "wrong,  and  tliat  such  madness  could  only 
result  in  a  catastrophe. 

"And  is  it  right,"  I  asked  in  conclusion,  "does  it  appear  to 
you  proper  for  us  to  allow  the  Insurrectos  to  enter  here  in  or- 
der that  tliey  may  cut  our  throats?  They  have  attacked  me 
and  they  keep  on  attacking  me.  I,  for  my  part,  restrict  my- 
self to  the  defense.     If  peace  has  been  made,  let  them  set  the 


Under  the  Eed  axd   Gold.  121 

example  by  withdrawing  first.  Tell  the  General  that  I  still 
have  rations  enough  for  three  months." 

The  night  before  the  riee-dust  had  completely  given  out, 
and  there  were  only  a  few  cans  of  sardines  left. 

I  then  added:  "If  the  three  months  should  pass  without 
a  war-vessel  or  Spanish  forces  coming  for  us,  I  shall  go  to 
Manila  and  present  myself  with  the  people  I  can  save,  how- 
ever long  I  may  be  in  getting  there  in  the  roundabout  ways  by 
which  1  may  have  to  go." 

He  concluded  by  asking  me  if,  in  case  General  Rios  should 
come,  I  would  obey  his  orders.  I  said,  "Yes;  I  should  obey 
them  without  hesitation."  And  lie  went  away,  leaving  a  bun- 
dle of  newspapers  on  the  ground. 

There,  in  one  of  those  papers,  involved  in  a  brief  notice, 
which  was  of  a  kind  least  to  bo  looked  for,  was  at  last  the  end 
of  that  Calvary. 


122  Under   the   Eed   and   Gold. 

VIII. 
LAST    DAYS. 

To    THE    FOin:ST. —  riJKPARATIOXS. T'NAV0IDA?>LE    FIRING. ThE 

BKSIEGEIiS     CAinn'     THEIR     VIGILANCE     TO     EXTRE:\rES.  ^A'E 

MAKE  A  SALLY   IX   FORCE. UNEXPECTED  NEWS. SlIALL   V:K 

CAPITULATE? — Vote  of  confidence. — A  parley. — Dictat- 
ing   TERMS. — ^ACT    OF    CAPITUL.ATIOX'. 

In  paying  that  I  would  oliey  the  orders  of  General  Eios, 
if  he  should  come  personally  to  oive  theui  to  me,  T  was  in- 
spired In-  no  other  idea  tlian  tliat  of  craiiiinii-  a  few  days.  1 
had  been  fully  convinced  that  they  were  trying):  to  deceive  nie : 
but  now  the  iniseralde  notion  that  lia<l  been  working  in  uiy 
brain  was  aflirined  by  hearing  the  friai's  who  had  l)een  taken 
in  by  the  dead  Las  Morenas  say  that  the  Minister  of  AVar  mat- 
ter might  be  so,  since  thev  thought  they  had  heard  that  the 
General  had  married  a  Filipiiia. 

I  reflected  that  while  they  were  getting  advice  tn  the  Gen- 
eral and  he  was  journeying  to  us.  a  week  would  pass  during 
which  these  people  would  let  us  alone.  Tal<ing  advantage  of 
the  calm,  we  would  make  for  the  forest,  and,  when  they  would 
least  ex])ect  it,  they  would  find  the  church  cm])ty:  because,  if 
they  thought  we  were  deceived,  and  were  resolved  to  surrendei', 
it  was  not  unlikely  that  they  would  re'ax  their  vigilance,  and 
we  could   make  our  escaj^e  without   dilliculty. 

As  soon  as  Sehor  Aguilar  withdrew,  L  ordered  the  bundle 
of  papers  to  be  brought  in,  and  we  began  to  compare  them 
critically  with  others  we  had.  I  remember  that  the  most  im- 
portant of  our  comparisons  was  among  several  copies  of  El 
Imparcial,   in   which   we   could   not   find   any   differences   other 


Uxdp:r  the   Eed   axd   Gold.  123 

than  those  natural  in  editing.  We  marveled  greatly  at  the 
similarity  in  typography,  the  exactness  as  to  size,  and  even 
as  to  the  quality  of  the  paper.  But  remembering  the  wonder- 
ful dexterity  of  those  Island  people  in  imitating,  I  said,  after 
taking  everythinT  into  consideration:  "It  is  nothing;  as  these 
people  have  the  material  for  the  purpose,  they  have  devoted 
themselves  to  copying  our  ^aily  papers  in  their  eagerness  for 
us  to  swallow  their  hook." 

It  is  with  suspicion  as  it  is  ordinarily  with  enthusiasm 
or  fear:  it  is  contagious,  and  none  of  my  men  were  induced 
to  wish  to  surrender.  We  ended  then,  in  a  way  least  to  be 
expected  in  reason,  by  regarding  all  those  papers  as  apocryphal, 
disdaining  to  read  them,  making  no  account  of  them,  and  in 
getting  ready  for  our  contemplated  flight. 

In  the  first  place,  I  ordered  all  the  lamps  that  were  hang- 
ing before  some  of  the  altars  taken  down  and  tlie  ropes  bv 
which  they  were  suspended  to  be  carefully  prepared  so  as  to 
serve  us  in  crossing  the  many  rivers  that  we  should  certainly 
find  on  our  way.  Some  of  the  men  did  not  know  how  to  swim, 
and  I  planned  that  on  arriving  at  a  stream  that  could  not  l)e 
forded,  a  good  swimmer  would  cross,  taking  one  end  of  a  rone, 
and,  on  reaching  the  opposite  bank,  would  tie  it  to  a  tree  or  rock 
that  would  afford  sufficient  resistance;  fastened  on  our  side  in 
the  same  manner  and  made  properly  taut,  the  men  would  pass 
over  by  clinging  to  the  rope.  Another  swimmer  would  bring 
up  the  rear,  and,  when  all  had  safely  passed  the  obstacle,  would 
undo  tlic  fastening,  and  we  would  all  reassemble. 

1  ordered  also  that  leather  slippers  should  be  made  to  re- 
place the  worn-out  ones,  and  that  the  men  w^ho  were  still  with- 
out should  be  shod  by  using  the  cartridge-boxes  and  leather 
equipments  taken  from  the  dead. 

I  fixed  the  date  for  the  night  of  the  1st  of  June,  and  on 


124  Uxdj:k   the   I»ed   axd    Gold. 

the  morning  of  that  day  I  proceeded  to  burn  tlie  superfluous 
rifles,  as  well  as  a  Eeniington  and  another  rifle  which  we 
had  found  in  the  Comandancla.  I  distributed  the  ajunuuii- 
tion  that  yet  remained  and  issued  to  each  man  a  new  blanket : 
and,  in  accordance  with  powers  conferred  on  me  by  Articles  :1'k 
and  o'i  of  the  Code  of  Military  Justice,  yielding,  much  against 
mv  will,  to  the  force  of  circumstances,  1  ordered  to  be  shot  at 
once  Corporal  A'icente  Gonzalez  Toca  and  Private  Antonio 
^lenache  Sanchez,  guilty,  and  confessedly  so,  of  the  crime  of 
treason  at  a  besieged  post,  and  liable,  moreover,  to  the  punish- 
ment of  death  ordered  by  the  Captain-General  of  the  Archi- 
]jelago,  Don  Basiiio  Augusti,  in  his  solemn  proclamation  of 
April  -.'S,  1898. 

The  execution  took  place  without  legal  formalities,  which 
were  utterly  impossible,  but  not  without  the  justification  of 
the  cri)ne.  It  was  a  terrible  and  painful  measure,  wliic'h  I 
could  ha\e  taken  immediately  on  discovering  the  facts,  and 
which  1  ouglit  to  have  imposed  without  further  delay  when 
the  desert  inn  was  attempted;  which  I  had  continued  to  delay 
with  the  desire  and  hope  tliat  someone  else  would  decide  it 
and  end  it,  but  which  was  now,  unfortunately,  indispensa'i)lv 
necessary. 

It  grieved  me  much  to  come  to  this  determination,  and  I 
sought  for  a  sul)tcrfuge  l)y  which  I  could  free  myself  from  the 
responsibnlity.  But  1  could  not  find  it  without  myself  being 
chargeable  with  laxity  in  command,  and.  ab^ove  all,  with  com- 
])romising  our  safety  during  the  withdrawal.  It  was  very  bitter, 
but  it  was  very  necessary.  I  proceeded  serenely,  fulfilling  mv 
duty.  For  that  reason,  no  doubt,  the  tranquillity  of  my  con- 
scienee  ha?  never  been  disturi)ed. 

In  order  to  prevent  the  enemy  from  making  use  of  any 
of  the  remains  of  the  arms  destroyed,  1  had  the  barrels  placed 


UXDER     THE     EeD     AXD     GOLD.  125 

in  the  pit  that  had  l)CGn  prepared  for  the  l)odies  of  the  exe- 
cuted men,  before  tliey  were  liuried,  and  the  small  parts  were 
scattered  around  tlie  outside  of  the  cluircli.  This  done,  we 
waited   for  tlie  ni^lit   to   come. 

During  the  dav  n:y  men^  such  was  their  need,  stri|i])!'d  olf 
evervtliiu,!?  edible,  leaves  and  shoots,  that  was  still  left  in  our 
little  plantations;  and,  although  our  proposed  undertaking 
was  one  of  those  that  only  extreme  desperation  could  couns^'l, 
they  all  showed  their  imjiatient  joy  that  the  hour  was  now 
coming  when  they  would  abandon  that  gloomy  place,  where 
was  not  wanting,  to  give  it  that  character,  even  the  horror  of 
a  sad  cemetery  of  executed  men. 

At  length  it  grew  dark,  but  in  the  quiet  of  the  night  we 
noticed  that  vigilance  was  increasing  in  an  extraordinary  man- 
ner throughout  the  Insiirrecto  trenches.  There  was  no  moon, 
but  the  sky  was  so  clear  that  we  could  not  get  away  without 
being  discovered  immediately.  There  was  nothing  for  us  to 
do,  therefore,  except  to  hide  our  disappointment  and  to  ]uit 
off  our  march  until  the  following  night,  in  tlie  hope  that  we 
might  be  faxored  by  some  carelessness  on  the  part  of  the  en- 
emy, and  with  the  determination  that  if  we  could  not  succeed 
in  getting  out  without  discoveiw,  we  woubl  charge  at  once  on 
tlie  strongest  part  of  the  works — that  is.  where  it  might  lie  sup- 
])0sed  we  would  be  least  likely  to  attempt  a  sally,  'i'o  this  end, 
L  made  all  swear  that  if  anyone  should,  unfortunately,  remai-i 
in  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  he  would  not  say  a  word  nor  make 
a  sign  that  would  indicate  the  direction  in  which  we  might  go. 

On  the  following  morning,  when  it  was  scarcelv  light.  1 
picked  up  the  newspapers  again.  /ITiroughout  the  night  the 
strange  fact  that  they  had  been  made  to  resemble  the  genuine 
ones  in  a  most  remarlvalile  mauner  had  pi'.s^(-ssed  m\-  mind,  and 
something  instinctivelv  counselled  ni"  tn  read   them.     Without 


126  UXDER    THE    EeD    AXD     GOLD. 

any  expectation,  then,,  that  my  suspicions  would  disappear,  I 
began  to  glance  over  their  columns,  marveling  at  the  ingenuity 
that  had  been  wasted  in  the  attempt  to  deceive  us  and  to  make 
us  surrender. 

I  was  still  admiring,  my  mind  more  and  more  struck 
with  the  skillfulness  of  the  work,  when  a  small  article  of  only 
two  lines  caused  me  to  tremble  with  astonishment.  It  was  the 
simple  notice  that  a  lieutenant  of  the  Infantry  Reserve,  Don 
Francisco  Diaz  Xavarro,  was  ordered  to  take  station  at  Mala- 
ga. But  that  officer  had  been  my  companion  and  intimate 
friend  in  the  Bourbon  Eegiment;  it  had  fallen  to  his  lot  to  go 
to  Cuba;  and  I  knew  very  well  that  he  had  resolved  to  ask 
for  station  at  Malaga,  where  his  family  and  his  sweetheart 
lived. 

That  could  not  have  been  invented.  Those  papers  were 
therefore  Spanish,  and  all  they  said  was  true.  It  was  then 
not  false  that  the  colonies  had  been  lost,  that  we  had  been 
rudelv  despoiled,  that  this  little  bit  of  the  earth  that  we  had 
defended  even  to  madness  was  not  now  our  own;  and,  as  Sehor 
Agtiilar  said,  there  was  no  reason  for  our  obstinacy  in  defend- 
ing it. 

It  was,  to  me,  the  ray  of  light  that  suddenly  illumined 
the  pit  in  which  we  were  about  to  fall  headlong.  In  with- 
drawing to  the  forest  it  had  not  been  my  purpose  to  remain 
in  it  like  Igorrote  savages,  and  as  to  reaching  Manila,  I  knew 
that  it  was  an  undertaking  about  as  impossible  as  an  ascent 
to  the  Mountains  of  the  Moon.  But  I  expected  to  gain  the 
coast;  to  remain  there  in  some  secluded  refuge,  waiting  for 
the  passing  of  our  war-ships,  which,  since  the  Yorlctoicn  inc'- 
dent,  I  thought  -^vere  navigating  freely;  and,  by  firing  and  rais- 
ing a  large  flag  that  we  had  made  of  the  available  material,  to 
attract  the  attention  of  the  first  one  that  might  pass,  so  that 


Under  the   Red   axd   Gold.  127 

we  could  be  picked  up  and  saved.  The  disaster  to  Spain  hav- 
ing occurred,  as  I  now  no  longer  doubted,  this  last  hope  disap- 
peared, and  to  take  my  soldiers  into  the  depths  of  the  forest 
would  be  to  deliver  them  miserably  to  death. 

I  could  see  nothing  for  it,  therefore,  but  surrender.  I  at 
once  assembled  my  command  and  announced  that  the  moment 
had  come  to  treat  with  the  enemy.  Some  of  those  brave  men, 
their  e}'es  filled  with  tears,  did  not  appear  to  be  convinced, 
and  others  argued  that  "the  boiling  water  incident  was  ver-' 
recent,"  and  that  "the  enemy  would  burn  us  alive." 

Choking  with  tears  and  passion,  I  persisted  in  convinc- 
ing the  former  that  there  was  no  other  door  of  safety  open  to 
us;  and,  in  order  to  dissipate  the  fears  that  influenced  the  lat- 
ter (well-founded  ones  certainly),  I  replied  to  them  somewhat 
as  follows : 

"Lieutenant-Colonel  Aguilar  is  undoubtedly  the  command- 
ing officer  of  the  forces  that  surround  us.  You  noticed  at  once 
that  he  appeared  to  be  a  distinguished  person  and  very  well 
experienced  in  military  matters.  I  thought  so,  and  I  am  sure 
that  he  would  not  permit  the  maltreatment  of  those  who  de- 
serve, as  in  our  case,  the  title  of  meritorious  soldiers,  victims 
of  the  love  of  country.  The  tenacity  of  our  defense  was 
based  on  the  strict  carrying  out  of  the  provisions  of  the  Field 
Eegulations,  the  Code  of  ^Military  Justice,  the  Code  of  Honor, 
our  Ordinances,  and,  finally,  the  Proclamation  of  the  Captain- 
General  of  the  Archipelago,  Sehor  August!.  We  have  done, 
then,  only  our  duty  loyally,  giving  an  example  worthy  rather 
of  admiration  than  of  punishment.  And,  finally,  although 
they  might  not  so  consider  it,  I  am,  after  all,  the  only  one 
responsible  for  all  that  has  happened,  and  I  alone  can  be  the 
one  who  might  have  to  pa}',  principally  for  having  ordered 
the  arms  buried." 


l28  Under   the   Eed   axd    Gold. 

'"Do  as  it  seems  best  to  you,''  thev  answered;  "you  are 
the  one  wlio   understands   it." 

I  immediately  wrote  a  very  short  statement  of  the  coudi- 
iions  under  whicli  v/i'  would  surrender,  and  ].)roposed  to  the 
men  that  if  they  wM'e  not  ac.ei)ted.  we  should  sally  forth  to 
death  or  life  as  (iod  willed.  All  this  was  approved  unani- 
mously, and  1  at  onee  ordered  the  white  tlag  to  be  raised  and 
tlie  trumpeter  to  sound  the  "attention."    Unforgetable  moment! 

Immediately  an  Insurrecio  sentinel  adviin.cd,  and  I  called 
to  him  to  summon  Lieutenant-Colonel  Aguilar.  After  a  short 
time,  a  major,  a  native  also,  advanced  and  told  us  that  just 
then  that  ollicer  was  not  with  them,  but  that  their  Lieutenant- 
Colonel,  who  was  in  command  and  who  was  dressing,  would 
come  at  once.  Xor  did  the  latter  keep  us  waiting.  When  he 
had  come  within  easy  s]K\iking  distance,  1  informed  him  of 
our  wishes.  l)ut  warned  him  with  these  final  w(n'ds: 

•'"Do  not  imagine  that  I  am  in  the  water  u])  to  my  neck. 
I  still  have  rations  for  several  days,  and  if  you  do  not  accede 
lo  the  terms  1  think  of  proposing,  you  nuiy  be  certain  that, 
rather  than  snrrender,  J  shall  march  with  my  men  to  the 
forest,   assaidting  your  trenches." 

lie  rej)lied  that  I  might  draw  up  the  ca])itulation  in  sucli 
terms  as  i  thought  best,  provided  always  that  they  were  not 
in  calumniation  of  the  Insurn'ctos.  He  also  volunte/red  tbo 
assurance  that  we  should  be  permitted  to  retain  our  arms  a- 
far  as  the  limit  of  their  jurisdiction,  where  we  would  give 
them  uj). 

Such  a  generous  offer.  A\hit'h  indicates  the  most  distin- 
guished honor  that  can  be  ])aid  on  sut-h  o,;casions.  dissipated 
in  gre:it  measure  our  distrust,  and  it  goes  without  saying  that 
we  woiild  have  accepted  it  with  enthusiasm:  but  I  saw  that 
i!iv  men   were  becoming  weaker  and  weaker  and  their  strength 


UxDEi?    THE    Eed    AXn    GOLD.  129 

seemed  to  he  leaving  tlieui  entirely  &>.  we  saw  the  end  of  all 
our  troubles.  I  understood  that  it  was  entirely  impossible  for 
us  to  make  a  single  day's  inarcb  carrying  those  arms;  which, 
moreo\-c]-.   might  serve  as  a  pre! ex t    for  some  vexation. 

I  therefoi'c  drew  up  the  following  agreement,  which  was 
accepted   without   changts  or   discussion: 

"In  Baler,  on  the  second  day  of  June,  eighteen  ninety- 
nine,  "-id  Jjieutenant  Don  Saturnino  Martin  Cerezo.  connnand- 
ing  Spanish  Detachment:  ordered  the  trumpeter  to  sound  the 
'attention'  and  'parley,'  raising  the  white  flag  as  a  signal  of 
capitulation :  being  answered  at  once  l)y  the  trumpeter  of  the 
besieging  fc^rce.  And  the  commanders  and  oilicers  of  both 
forces  beimj  assembled,  they  agreed  upon  the  following  terms: 

''Fii\sf.  From  this  date  hostilities  on  both  sides  are  sus- 
pended. 

''Second.  The  besieged  lay  down  their  arms,  delivering 
them  to  the  Commander  of  the  besieging  force,  together  with 
the  iniliiary  equipments  and  other  effects  belonging  to  the 
Spanish   Government. 

'Ill  in] .  The  besieged  force  do  not  become  prisoners  of 
war,  i)ut  sliall  be  escorted  l)y  the  Republican  troops  to  a  point 
where  Spanish  troops  may  be  found,  or  to  a  place  from  which 
they  may  safely  join  the  latter. 

"Fourth.  Private  property  to  be  respected,  and  no  injury 
to  be  done  to  individuals. 

"And,  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  it  into  effect,  this 
agreement  is  exe>-uted  in  duplicate,  being  signed  by  the  follow- 
ing gentlemen:  Lieutenant-Colonel  Simon  Tecson,  command- 
ing the  besieging  force;  Major  Xemesio  Bartolome;  Captain 
Francisco  T.  Ponce;  Second  Lieutenant,  commanding  the  l)e- 
sicged  force,   Saturnino   ^Lirtin ;   Doctor  Kogelio  Vigil." 

Thus  terminated  the  Siege  of  the  Church  of  Baler,  on  the 
three  hundred  and  thirty-seventh  day  from  its  beginning,  when 
we  now  had  nothing  edible  to  ])ut  in  our  mouths,  nor  was  it 
humanly  possible  to  sustain  it  a  single  day  longer. 


130  UxDER   THE   Red   axd   Gold. 

Tliere  was  no  affliction  that  had  been  wanting  to  us  in 
that  humble  spot,  designed  only  for  religious  supplications; 
neither  the  inclemencies  of  the  weather,  nor  the  rigor  of  the 
siege,  nor  the  blows  of  treason,  nor  the  pestilence.  Hunger 
with  its  irresistible  pangs,  death  without  help,  isolation  witb 
its  crushing  weight,  deception  that  overwhelms  the  most  \\s- 
orous  powers  of  the  soul,  and  the  maddening  hel])lessncss  lliat 
afflicts  it,  all  contributed  to  harass  and  overcome  us. 

Tbere  is  much  to  sustain  a  man's  resolution  in  the  assault 
of  the  enemv's  battery,  in  crossing  !)ayonets  with  liim  during 
the  tumult  of  battle.  But  it  is  a  thing  most  diliiciilt  for  him 
to  struggle,  day  after  day  and  week  after  week,  ngainst  the  ob- 
session that  pursues  him,  to  sustain  himself  Ijehind  walls  that 
the  enemy  is  demolishing,  and  not  to  give  way  to  the  languor 
of  utter  weariness. 

Such  is  the  merit  of  the  defenders  of  Baler,  of  that  poor 
church  where,  for  ten  months  after  the  loss  of  our  sovereignly 
in  the  Philippines,  the  Spanish  flag  continued  to  wave. 

EXD   OF   CEREZO'S   XARRATTVE. 


UxDER  THE   Red   axd   Gold.  131 


AFTER  THE  SIEGE. 


Lieutenant  Cerezo's  narrative  of  tlie  events  following  the 
surrender^  of  the  march  over  the  mountains  and  across  the 
low  central  plain  to  Tarlak,  of  the  treatment  of  the  survivors 
there,  of  the  journey  down  the  railroad  to  Manila,  and  of  tlio 
reception  there  and  in  the  Homeland,  will  he  given  very  briefb-. 
After  the  story  of  the  siege  itself,  the  later  happenings  are, 
witli  few  exceptions,  of  comparatively  little  interest  to  the 
general  reader,  although  we  can  easily  understand  how  much 
it  all  meant  to  the  ragged,  emaciated  survivors  themselves. 

When,  the  capitulation  having  been  signed,  the  time  came 
to  throw  open  the  doors  of  the  church,  the  survivors  were 
somewhat  apprehensive,  not  only  because  of  the  irregular  char- 
acter of  the  besieging  force,  which  had  been  severely  punished 
by  the  besieged,  but  also  because  there  were  among  them  some 
vile  deserters,  from  whom  everything  was  to  be  feared  at  the 
first  opportunity. 

As  the  shooting  of  the  two  deserters,  in  the  church,  might 
cause  some  violence,  the  Doctor  stood  ready  to  certify  that  the 
deaths  of  Gonzalez  Toca  and  Menache  were  due  to  dysentery, 
and  on  different  dates,  while  the  men  were  cautioned  that  they 
should  asseverate  the  same  thing  until  they  were  safely  among 
their  own  people. 

The  Detachment  set  out  from  Baler  during  the  afternoon 
of  June  7th.  The  first  night  was  spent  at  San  Jose  de  Casig- 
nan,  and  tlie  next  day  the  command  passed  over  the  Caraballos. 
The  fatiguing  nature  of  this  march  can  be  imagined  from 
Cerezo's    statement    that    they    crossed    one    river    seventy-two 


132  Under   the   Red   axd    Gold. 

times,  such  were  the  confused  windings  it  described  in  its 
course;  and  that  it  had  to  be  forded  by  men  in  groups,  because 
the  current  would  liave  swept  away  individuals  alone. 
\  The  march  to  Tarlak,  where  the  Filipino  (Jovernmcm 
was  then  established,  took  tlie  party  through  Pantabangan, 
Bongabon,  Cabanatiian,  Aliaga,  and  La  Paz.  Daring  the  first 
half  of  the  journey,  in  spite  of  repeated  messages  from  Aguin- 
aldo  directing  that  the  Detachment  should  l)e  treated  with  the 
greatest  consideration,  Cerezo  was  subjected  to  no  little  annoy- 
ance, and  even  suff'ering,  brought  about  by  tlie  vindictiveness 
of  Gregorio  Exposito  and  Alcaide  Bayona,  and.  as  Cerezo  be- 
lieved, by  the  cupidity  of  the  Filipino  otiieers  who  lomnumded 
the  escort. 

At  Pantabangan  an  attempt  was  made  during  the  night 
to  rob  and  kill  Cerezo  and  Doctor  A'igil,  wlio  had  been  lodged 
in  one  of  the  best  houses,  which  the  officers  of  the  escort  had 
been  "'kind''  enough  to  reserve.  The  only  sufferer  in  this  at- 
tack was  Cerezo,  who,  in  jumping  fi-om  a  window,  sustained 
a  painful  dislocation  of  an  ankle,  which  caused  great  delay  in 
the  march  and  from  which  he  did  not  recover  until  after  the 
survivors  had  left  ^Manila  for  home. 

The  very  next  day,  on  nearing  Bongabon,  a  carabao,  o" 
which  was  loaded  the  effects,  official  papers,  etc.,  of  Cerezo  and 
Mgil,  was  forcibly  taken  from  the  Spanish  soldier  who  had 
it  in  charge.  Although  complaint  was  made  to  two  Filipino 
officers,  who  had  formerly  l>elonged  to  the  Spanish  Army,  and 
they  admitted  that  the  tulisanes  (robbers)  were  probably  some 
of  the  escort,  and  promised  that  search  would  ])e  made  for  the 
effects,  they  staid  lost. 

At  Cabanatuan  a  hospital  had  been  established  by  the  na- 
tives for  sick  and  wounded  Spaniards,  where  Cerezo  was  taken, 
in  order  that  he  might  receive  treatment  for  his  ankle,  which, 


Under   the   Eed   axd   Gold.  133 

for  lack  of  facilities,  had  been  neglected,  and  did  not  give  him 
a  moment's  ease. 

TIk'  Spanisii  from  Baler,  with  the  escort,  now  continued 
their  march.  "With  them,''  says  Cerezo,  ''disap])earod  forever 
from  my  sight  the  villainous  Alcaide  Bayona.  Here  is  an  ac- 
count of  liis  death:  On  April  1,  1900,  Captain  Don  Inocencio 
Lafuente  Feiro  discm'uirked  at  Barcelona,  bringing  a  detach- 
ment of  repatriated  men,  among  whom  figured  my  old  deserter 
orderly,  Felipe  Herrero  Lopez,  and  the  said  Alcaide,  locked  in 
the  brig.  Very  black  liuist  have  been  tiie  thoughts  of  Alcaide, 
since  he  absolutely  refused  food  or  drink.  In  vain  were  the 
efforts,  the  man's  mouth  even  being  forced  open  with  a  key, 
to  make  him  receive  sustenance.  Stubljorn  in  his  purpose,  the 
wretched  man  allowed  himself  to  die  of  starvation." 

Two  weeks  passed  and  Cerezo  wa>;  still  unable  to  use  his 
foot,  when,  early  in  the  morning  of  the  ^Oth,  a  telegram  was 
received  from  Aguinaldo,  directing  the  Spaniards  who  might 
be  able  to  proceed  at  once  to  Tarlak,  in  order  that,  taking  ad- 
vantage of  the  passing  through  there  of  the  Spanish  Commis- 
sion which  was  arranging  for  the  liberation  of  Spanish  prison- 
ers, they  could  go  with  it  to  Manila.  All  but  Cerezo  set  out, 
and  the  Military  Governor  so  telegraphed  to  tlie  General,  who 
replied  that,  using  all  means  proper  to  Cerezo's  condition,  they 
should  send  him  on  without  delay,  since  it  was  necessary  for 
him  to  accompany  the  troops  to  Manila. 

As  it  was  impossible  for  Cerezo  to  ride  a  horse,  a  canga 
was  furnished,  in  which,  for  greater  comfort,  a  large  arm- 
chair was  placed.  A  canga  is  a  sort  of  wheelless  cart,  which 
is  dragged  along  the  ground,  and  which  must  have  been  in- 
vented in  prehistoric  times.  This  primitive  affair  was,  how- 
ever, well  suited  to  the  muddy  roads,  and  by  means  of  it  Cerezo 
finally  arrived,  Julv  3d,  at  Tarlak. 


134  Under  the  Red   axd   Gold. 

It  Avas  here  that  Cerezo  and  his  men  began  to  receive  the 
rewards  and  honors  that  were  extended  to  them  in  abundance 
until  long  after  they  reached  Spain.  Aguinaldo  not  only  or- 
dered everything  necessary  for  their  comfort^  but  he  furnished 
them  (and  for  this  they  were  more  grateful  than  for  anythinp; 
else)  copies  of  newspapers  in  which  was  published  a  decree  o'' 
his,  declaring  them  "worthy  of  the  admiration  of  the  world  for  Hk! 
valor,  constancy,  and  heroism  with  which  that  handful  of  men, 
cut  olf  and  without  hope  of  any  aid,  has  defended  their  flag 
for  the  space  of  a  year,  realizing  an  epic  so  glorious  and  so 
worthy  of  the  legendary  valor  of  the  Cid." 

The  railroad  bv'ing  interrupted  for  some  distance  north  of 
San  Fernando,  which  was  occupied  by  the  Americans  under 
(Jeneral  ^FacArthur,  the  parly  left  the  train  at  Angeles,  and 
Cerezo  and  some  others  were  lodged  in  the  house  of  the  Fil- 
ipino (General  Mascardo,  whose  name  will  have  a  familiar  sound 
to  sonic  of  the  military  readers  of  this  book.  ^lascardo  enter- 
tained them  with  a  banquet  in  the  afternoon  and  a  dance  ai 
niglit,  at  which  were  present  the  most  distinguished  sehoritas 
of  the  town. 

On  the  following  day  the  party  ])roceeded  towards  San 
Fernando  in  quilezes  and  carromatas,  the  vehicles  common  in 
that  country.  After  sustaining  an  upset,  by  wdiich  the  quilcz 
in  which  Cerezo  was  riding  was  reduced  to  a  skeleton,  they  ar- 
rived at  Bacolor,  three  or  four  miles  from  San  Fernando,  where 
it  was  necessary  to  have  a  parley  with  the  Americans  for  per- 
mission to  pass.  Orders  had  already  been  given  for  the  train 
to  start  for  Manila,  but  it  was  held  for  the  party,  and  bv  ii 
they  proceeded  to  the  capital,  where  Cerezo  was  lodged  in  the 
palace  of  Santa  Potenciana. 

While  in  Manila  the  survivors  were  showered  with  finan- 
cial aid,  congratulations,  entertainments,   and  civilities  of  all 


Under  the   Eed   axd   Gold.  135 

kinds,  in  such  profusion  that  Cerezo  says:  "Perhaps  if,  some- 
times, in  my  hours  of  frightful  dejection,  I  may  have  dreamed 
a  phantasm  of  rewards  and  glory,  certain  it  is  that  I  never 
could  have  imagined  that  I  should  gain  them  so  abundantly." 

But  there  was  a  fly  in  the  ointment.  There  had  been  se- 
vere criticism  concerning  the  motives  that  impelled  the  defend- 
ers of  Baler  to  prolong  the  siege;  hints  that  there  was  some- 
thing that  prevented  them  from  wishing  to  return  to  Spain, 
for  fear  of  punishment;  that  because  Las  Morenas  and  Alonso 
wished  to  surrender,  their  deaths  had  been  by  violence.  As  to 
these  imputations  our  author  says :  "I  refrain  from  staining 
these  pages  with  a  relation  of  that  stupid  invention,  made  in 
a  cowardly  manner  to  vilify  the  defenders  of  Baler,  in  the  be- 
lief, perhaps,  that  no  one  would  be  left  alive.  Nevertheless,  I 
must  not  conceal  the  fact  that  often,  in  thinking  of  it,  I  have 
a  feeling  of  horror;  because  it  has  occurred  to  me,  naturally, 
that  if  the  church  had  been  taken  by  assault  and  we  had  all 
met  death,  that  infamous  calumny  would  have  been  spread 
abroad  to  blacken  our  memory." 

On  July  20th  the  survivors  embarked  on  the  steamer  Ali- 
cante, and  on  September  1st  they  reached  Barcelona. 

The  Detachment  now  being  broken  up,  Cerezo,  after  clear- 
ing his  accounts  at  Tarragona,  proceeded  to  Madrid,  and  final- 
ly, on  the  1st,  to  his  native  town  Miajades,  in  the  Province  of 
Caceres. 

All  Spain  had  been  stirred  by  the  accounts  concerning  our 
little  band  of  resolute  men,  and  all  stood  ready  to  do  them 
honor. 

On  reaching  Barcelona  they  were  met  by  the  principal 
authorities  of  the  city,  wdio  afterwards  transmitted  the  congrat- 
ulations of  Barcelona  to  Cerezo,  and  through  him  to  the  indi- 
viduals of  the  Detachment,  who,  "in  the  midst  of  the  disasters 


136  UXDER    THE    EeD     AXD     GoLD. 

iliat  have  afflicted  Spain,  knew  how  to  add  one  more  y)age  to 
the  Golden  Book  of  her  history." 

At  ^ifadrid  Cerezo  was  mot  and  entertained  by  an  officer 
of  His  Majesty's  Household  Troops,  by  the  Minister  of  War, 
and  committees  from  the  garrison  ;  and  when  he  reached  his 
own  town,  the  people  illuminated  and  decorated  the  streets. 
conducted  him  in  procession  to  the  church — in  fact,  "threw  the 
house  out  of  the  window"  in   celebration  of  his  return. 

The  cities  of  Caceres  and  Tnijillo  also  honored  Cerezo  by 
declaring  him,  by  resolution  of  tlieir  cor])orations,  "the  adopt- 
ive son"  of  those  cities. 

]\Iore  substantial  rewards  came,  of  course,  from  the  Gov- 
ernment itself.  Under  date  of  September  -J-,  181)9,  there  was 
published  a  royal  order,  in  which  each  member  of  the  Detach- 
ment was  thanked  in  His  ^Majesty's  name,  and  in  which  it  was 
decreed  that  general  orders  of  the  Army  be  published  express- 
ing "the  satisfaction  with  which  the  country  had  learned  of 
their  glorious  conduct,  in  order  that  it  might  serve  as  an  ex- 
ample to  those  who  wear  the  military  itniform"":  bv  royal  or- 
ders of  a  later  date  tliere  was  granted  to  each  officer,  living  and 
dead,  increased  rank;  to  Doctor  Vigil  was  granted  the  cross 
of  the  first  class  of  Maria  Cristina;  and  to  each  of  the  tliirty- 
one  men  of  the  Detachment  the  silver  cross  of  military  merit. 
with  a  small  monthly  pension  for  life;  and,  the  pro}jer  pro- 
ceedings having  been  had  before  the  Supreme  Council  of  ^Var 
and  ^Marine,  there  was  conceded  to  ^lajor  Las  ^lorenas  and  to 
Captain  Cerezo.  each,  tlie  Cross-Laureate  of  San  Fernando,  and 
annual  pensions  to  Cerezo  and  to  the  widow  of  Las  ]\Iorenas. 
Finally,  in  Cerezo's  own  town,  the  Cor])oration  had  an  ex- 
traordinary session,  at  which,  Itesides  the  Councillors,  were 
present  Cerezo  himself  and  the  local  military  and  ecclesiastical 
authorities;   and   resolutions   were   adopted,   that    the   street    in 


Under  the  Eed   and   Gold.  137 

which  the  gallant  defender  of  Baler  was  born  should  be  here- 
after known  as  Martin  Cerezo  Street;  that  a  tablet  should  be 
placed  on  the  honse  in  wliicli  he  was  born;  and  that  a  popular 
fund  sliould  he  raised,  having  for  its  object  the  presentation 
of  a  sword  of  honor  to  Captain  Don  Saturnino  ]\Iartin  Cerezo. 
as  a  remembrance  from  his  countrymen. 

THE   END. 


138  UxDER   Tiif:   Eed   and   Gold. 

APPENDIX. 

I. 

LIST  OF  THE  BESIEGED. 

Politico-Military   Commaxdaxt  of   El   Prixcipe. 
Don  Enriqup  de  las  Morenas  y  Fossi,  Captain  of  Infantry. 

Detachment  of  Baler,   Beloxgixg  to  the   Secoxd   Expe- 

DITIOXARY   BaTTALIOX. 

Second  Lieutenant  Don  Juan  Alonso  Zayas.  Died  October 
18,  1898,  of  disease. 

Second  Lieutenant   Don   Saturnino   Martin   Cerezo. 

Corporal  Vicente  Gonzalez  Toca.     Shot  June  1,  1899. 

Corpora]  Jose  Chaves  3Iartin.  Died  October  10,  1898,  of 
disease. 

Corporal  Jesiis  Garcia  Quijano. 

Corporal  Jose  Olivares  Conejero. 

Trumpeter  Santos  Gonzalez  Eoncal. 

Private    l'\'Ii])e   ITerrero   Lopez.     Deserted   June   27,    1898. 

Private  Felix  (iarcia  Torres.     Deserted  June  29,  1898. 

Private  Julian  Galvete  Iturmendi.  Died  July  31,  1898, 
of  wounds. 

Private  Juan  Chaniizo  Lucas. 

Private  Jose  Hernandez  Arocha. 

Private  Jose  Lafarga  Abad.  Died  October  22,  1898,  of 
disease. 

Private  Luis  Cervantes  Dato. 

Private  Manuel  Menor  Ortega. 

Private  Vicente  Pedrosa  Carballeda. 

Private  Antonio  Bauza  Eullana. 


UxDER   THE   Red   axd   Gold.  139 

Private  Antonio  Menache  Sanchez.     Shot  June  1,  1899. 

Private  Baldomero  Larrode  Paracuello.  Died  November 
9,  1898,  of  disease. 

Private  Domingo   Castro   Camarena. 

Private  Eustaquio  Gopar  Hernandez. 

Private  Eufemio  Sanchez  Martinez. 

Private  Emilio  Fabregat  Fabregat. 

Pri\ate  Felipe  Castillo  Castillo. 

Private  Francisco  Eoviro  ^lompo.  Died  September  30, 
1898,  of  disease. 

Private  Francisco  Real  Yuste. 

Private  Juan  Fuentes  Damian.  Died  N'ovember  8,  1898, 
of  disease. 

Private  Jose  Pineda  Turan. 

Private  Jose  Sanz  Meramendi.  Died  February  13,  1899, 
of  disease. 

Private  Jose  Jimenez  Berro. 

Private  Jose  Alcaide  Bayona.     Deserted  May  8,  1899. 

Private  Jose  Martinez  Santos. 

Private  Jaime  Caldentey  ^vTadal.    Deserted  August  3,  1898. 

Private  Loreto  Gallego  Garcia. 

Private  Marcos  Mateo  Conesa. 

Private  ^Miguel  Perez  Leal. 

Private  Miguel  Mendez  Exposito. 

Private  Manuel  Navarro  Leon.  Died  November  9,  1898, 
of  disease. 

Private  Marcos  Jose  Petanas.  Died  May  9,  1899,  of 
disease. 

Private  Pedro  Izquierdo  Arnaiz.  Died  November  14,  1898, 
of  disease. 

Private  Pedi'o  Vila  Gargante. 

Private  Pedro  Planas  Basagaiias. 


140  Under  the  Red   and   Gold. 

Private  Kamon  Donat  Pastor.  Died  October  14,  1898,  of 
disease. 

Private  Eamoii  Mir  Brils. 

Private  Eamon  Boades  Tormo. 

Private  Eonian  Lopez  Lozano.  Died  October  25,  1898,  of 
disease. 

Private  Eamon  Eipolles  Cardona. 

Private  Salvador  Santa  Maria  Aparicio.  Died  May  13, 
1899,  of  wounds. 

Private  Timoteo  Lopez  Larios. 

Private  Gregorio  Catalan  Valero. 

Private  Rafael  Alonso  Medero.  Died  December  8,  1898, 
of  disease. 

Private  ^larcelo  Adrian  Obregon. 

Hospital  Service. 

Contract  Surgeon  D.  Eogelio  Vigil  de  Quinones  Alfaro. 

Corporal  (^STative)  Alfonso  Sus  Fojas.  Deserted  June 
27,  1898. 

Private  (Spanish)  Tomas  Paladio  Paredes.  Deserted 
June  27,  1898. 

Private  (Spanish)  Bernardino  Sanchez  Cainzo. 

Priest  of  Baler. 
Friar  Candido  Gomez  Carreiio. 


Under  the   Red   and   Gold.  141 


II. 

It  is  thought  not  inappropriate  to  reprint  here  an  article 
that  appeared  in  a  Spanish  paper  while  the  wonderful  story 
of  Baler  was  yet  of  thrilling  interest  to  the  Spanish  reader. 
It  was  published  in  the  Heraldo  de  Madrid  of  October  5,  1900. 
In  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  report  of  the  surrender  of  Baler 
was  baseless,  the  article  is  rather  interesting  to  Americans.  The 
italics  are  the  translator's. 

"A  Reminder. 

"A  telegram  from  the  Phili])pines  states  that  the  Xorth 
American  forces  stationed  in  Baler  have  surrendered  to  the 
Ins2(rrectos. 

''The  surrender  of  these  forces  in  the  same  place  where 
a  poor  Spanish  Detachment,  without  munitions,  without  ra- 
tions, without  hope  of  succor,  withstood  an  enormous  force  of 
the  enemy  for  many  months,  is  a  consoling  contrast  for  Spain. 

"The  Spartan  abnegation  of  that  handful  of  heroes,  al- 
most naked,  hungry,  but  indomitable,  inspiring  forces  a  hun- 
dred times  more  numerous  with  terror  and  respect,  writing  in 
the  history  of  the  country  one  of  its  most  wonderful  pages, 
now  appears  doubly  great,  doubly  glorious. 

"Baler  was  consecrated  by  the  blood  of  martyrs  and  heroes, 
and  such  achievements  as  theirs  are  not  to  be  paralleled,  can- 
not be  boasted  of  by  any  other  nation.  Haughty  North  Amer- 
ica may  hare  immense  riches,  extensive  possessions,  tut  she 
has  no  Siege  of  Baler,  and  she  never  will  have  one. 

"After  long  months  of  fierce  strife,  of  resistance  to  tlie 
climate,    to    the    aflfiictions    of   fever    and    hunger,    and    of    re- 


142  Under  the  Eed   and   Gold. 

pelliug  vigorous  and  terrible  attacks,  the  Spanish  Detachment 
came  out  of  Baler  with  colors  flying,  victorious,  invincible. 

"It  was  a  Detachment  of  dying  men,  of  cadaverous  faces, 
of  bodies  devoured  by  fever.  But  under  those  ragged  uniforms, 
in  those  breasts  trembling  with  the  fever-cold,  the  heart  of  the 
Mother  Country  was  beating,  formidable  and  unconquerable, 
capable,  as  always,  of  astonishing  the  world  by  its  supreme 
valor. 

"They  have  despoiled  us  of  lands  and  blood.  It  is  fitting 
that  this  reminder,  revived  by  the  surrender  of  the  North 
Americans  at  Baler,  cause  us  to  turn  our  eyes,  still  filled  with 
tears,  from  defeat  to  those  sons  who  yonder  accomplished  so 
gallant  a  defense. 

"That   can   never   be   torn   from    Spain.      She   may    suffer 
calamity,  but  her  Sieges  of  Baler  have  gained  for  her  and  wi 
gain  for  her  the  respect  of  the  world." 


INDEX. 
First  Period — 

From  February  to  November,  1898 11 

Beginning  of  the  Siege 18 

From  the  1st  to  the  19th  of  July 26 

From  the  20th  of  July  to  the  SQth  of  September 35 

From  the  1st  of  October  to  the  22d  of  November 45 

Second  Period — 

From  November  23,  1898,  to  June  2,  1839 55 

From  the  14th  to  the  24th  of  December 63 

From   December  25,    1898,   to   February,    1899 72 

From  February  25th  to  April  8th S2 

April  93 

To  the  27th  of  May 101^ 

The  End  of  May Ill 

Last  Days 122 

After  the  Siege 131 

Appendix    138 


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